Health News Roundup: J&J to discontinue HIV vaccine trial; Rite Aid to dispense abortion pill in a limited number of stores and more

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that a safety monitoring system had flagged that the shot could possibly be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data. Factbox-Moderna data puts the spotlight on RSV vaccines under development Moderna Inc said on Tuesday its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was highly effective in preventing at least two symptoms of infections in older adults in a late-stage trial, as drugmakers race to develop a shot against the virus.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Senegal institute wins $50 million in boost to Africa's vaccine capacity

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) will invest up to $50 million over 10 years to help Senegal's Institut Pasteur expand Africa's ability to produce vaccines at scale, it said on Thursday. The deal - which will also reserve capacity to produce vaccines specifically for Global South countries during future outbreaks of disease - will help Africa take charge of its own health security, said CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett.

Rugby-RFU to lower tackle height to waist for community game

Tackling above the waist will be banned in community rugby matches from next season to "reduce head impact exposure and concussion risk", the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Thursday. The RFU added that ball carriers would be encouraged to "follow the principle of evasion" and avoid "late dipping".

Hong Kong to scrap isolation requirement for people with COVID

Hong Kong said it will no longer require people infected with COVID-19 to quarantine from Jan. 30, removing one of the last major coronavirus restrictions in place in the Asian financial hub. The scrapping of the isolation requirements is part of a decision to downgrade COVID-19's status to an endemic disease from a severe respiratory disease and follows a similar move by China on Jan.8.

China says critical COVID cases have peaked as holiday travel surges

The number of COVID patients needing critical care in China's hospitals has peaked, health authorities said on Thursday, as millions travelled across the country for long-awaited reunions with families, raising fears of fresh outbreaks. There has been widespread scepticism over China's official COVID data since it abruptly axed anti-virus controls last month that had shielded China's 1.4 billion people from the disease for three years.

Rite Aid to dispense abortion pill in a limited number of stores

Rite Aid Corp plans to dispense abortion medication in a limited number of its pharmacies and will serve customers either in person or through mail delivery, the U.S. drugstore chain said on Thursday. The company aims to dispense the pill, mifepristone, in compliance with federal and state laws.

Sanofi seeks to launch blood disorder drug this year - CNBC

French drugmaker Sanofi SA plans to launch a drug for rare bleeding disorder hemophilia A this year, Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson told CNBC in an interview on Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year accepted the marketing application for the therapy, which is being developed in collaboration with Swedish drugmaker Sobi, and is expected to decide on an approval status by Feb. 28.

Israel says has not found a link between Pfizer COVID shot and stroke

Israel has not identified any evidence linking strokes to an updated coronavirus vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE, according to a health ministry official. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that a safety monitoring system had flagged that the shot could possibly be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data.

Factbox-Moderna data puts the spotlight on RSV vaccines under development

Moderna Inc said on Tuesday its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was highly effective in preventing at least two symptoms of infections in older adults in a late-stage trial, as drugmakers race to develop a shot against the virus. There is only one drug in the United States for RSV, and rivals Pfizer Inc and GSK Plc expect a decision in May 2023 for their experimental RSV shots for adults.

EU drug regulator has not seen signal of possible Pfizer COVID shot stroke link

The European Union's drug regulator has not identified any safety signals in the region related to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech's updated COVID-19 shot, the agency said on Wednesday. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that a safety monitoring system had flagged that the shot could possibly be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data. "EMA can confirm that to date no such signal has been identified in the EU. EMA will continue to evaluate all available data to determine whether emerging safety information could point to a similar signal in the EU," the agency told Reuters in response to a question.

J&J to discontinue HIV vaccine trial

Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that it was pulling the plug on a late-stage global trial of an HIV vaccine after the shot was found ineffective at preventing infections. The trial's failure marks yet another setback in the search for a vaccine against a virus known to mutate rapidly and find unique ways to evade the immune system, and comes more than a year after another of J&J's HIV vaccine failed a study.