Health News Roundup: Pfizer, Valneva say 'positive' result for Lyme disease vaccine candidate booster; England confirms 34 COVID cases linked to highly mutated variant - UKSHA and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Pfizer, Valneva say 'positive' result for Lyme disease vaccine candidate booster

Pfizer and French pharmaceutical peer Valneva announced on Thursday that a phase 2 study for its VLA15 Lyme disease vaccine candidate showed a "strong immune response" in both children and adolescents a month after a booster shoot. "The Phase 2 booster results emphasize the vaccine candidate's potential to provide immunity against Lyme disease in paediatric and adolescent populations," the two companies said in a statement.

England confirms 34 COVID cases linked to highly mutated variant - UKSHA

UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) said on Friday that 34 COVID-19 cases linked to the highly mutated variant BA.2.86 had been identified in England. The Omicron offshoot carries more than 35 mutations in key portions of the virus compared with XBB.1.5, the dominant variant through most of 2023, a number roughly on par with the Omicron variant that caused record infections.

Explainer-Do I need to worry about COVID again?

New data from scientists and vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech suggests that a newer, highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is not as alarming as some experts had feared when it was first detected several weeks ago.

Nicknamed "Pirola" on social media, the BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant is being tracked by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Abortion rights at stake as Florida court weighs DeSantis-backed ban

The future of abortion rights in Florida will be at stake on Friday when the state's highest court hears arguments over whether the Florida constitution protects the right to end pregnancies. The case before the conservative Florida Supreme Court concerns the state's current ban on most abortions after 15 weeks, which took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned a national right to abortion.

Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro approved by UK watchdog

Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro has gained the backing of Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog, which said it would be a good option for patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said in draft final guidance that it estimates some 180,000 people could benefit from the new treatment.

Kroger posts net loss on $1.4 billion opioid case settlement charge

Kroger reported a quarterly net loss on Friday as the U.S. retailer took a $1.4-billion charge related to a nationwide opioid settlement, sending its shares down as much as 3% in premarket trading. The company said it would pay up to $1.2 billion to U.S. states and subdivisions and $36 million to Native American tribes, settling a majority of the opioid claims brought against it.

Astellas withdraws lawsuit challenging Medicare drug price negotiation plans

Japan-based Astellas Pharma on Wednesday withdrew a lawsuit filed against the U.S. government, days after its prostate cancer drug was spared from the first list of drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations. The U.S. government, late last month, selected the first 10 drugs, including the top-selling blood thinner Eliquis from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, which will face price negotiations as part of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

Massachusetts top court allows electric shock therapy for disabled patients

A Massachusetts institution for the developmentally disabled can continue to use controversial electric shock devices to address aggressive or self-harming behavior in residents, the state's highest court ruled Thursday, though it left the door open to future challenges. In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a 2018 lower court ruling that the state acted in bad faith in regulating the Canton-based Judge Rotenberg Educational Center. JRC, which provides education and treatment to people with development disabilities and behavioral disorders, is the only institution in the country to use the treatment.

Israeli scientists create model of human embryo without eggs or sperm

Scientists in Israel have created a model of a human embryo from stem cells in the laboratory, without using sperm, eggs or a womb, offering a unique glimpse into the early stages of embryonic development. The model resembles an embryo at day 14, when it acquires internal structures but before it lays down the foundations for body organs, according to the team at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.

Britain's Superdrug says Wegovy received is "very small fraction" of waiting list

British health and beauty chain Superdrug said on Thursday that the amount of weight-loss drug Wegovy it has so far received is "a very small fraction" of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list. More than 20,000 people had registered an interest in buying Wegovy from Superdrug even before Novo Nordisk launched the drug in Britain on Monday, and the waiting list has increased since then, a spokesperson told Reuters.