Health News Roundup: Moderna says FDA needs more time to complete review of its COVID-19 shot for adolescents; U.S. has administered over 422 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines -CDC and more

The updated U.S. intelligence briefing, published on Saturday, said that a natural origin and a lab leak were both plausible hypotheses to explain how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, first infected humans, but that the truth may never be known. Indonesian researchers breed 'good' mosquitoes to combat dengue Researchers in Indonesia have found a way to fight disease-bearing mosquitoes by breeding a species of the insect which carries a kind of bacteria that prevents viruses like dengue from growing inside them.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Moderna says FDA needs more time to complete review of its COVID-19 shot for adolescents

Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has been told that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require additional time to complete its assessment of the company's COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The FDA informed Moderna that the review may not be completed before January 2022, the company said in a statement, dealing a potential setback to the timing of an emergency use authorization (EUA) for that age group.

U.S. has administered over 422 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines -CDC

The United States had administered 422,070,099 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures were up from the 420,657,683 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Saturday.

U.S. gives 1.5 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan

The United States is delivering an additional 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters, increasing to 4 million the total number of shots donated by Washington to the self-ruled island, which is under increasing pressure from China. The new delivery of Moderna Inc doses will depart from Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday aboard a flight belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines, the official said.

J&J settles most Risperdal lawsuits, with $800 million in expenses

Johnson & Johnson said it has settled most of the lawsuits it faced by thousands of men who claimed its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal caused them to develop excessive breast tissue and disclosed that it recorded $800 million in expenses in connection with the agreement. J&J said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it reached a settlement in principle in September to resolve "substantially all" of the roughly 9,000 cases that the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based drugmaker faced over Risperdal.

Factbox-Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 246.78 million, death toll at 5,232,657

More than 246.78 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 5,232,657​ have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Britain's COVID-19 cases down 13.5% over past week

Britain has reported 38,009 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Sunday, meaning cases reported between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 were down by 13.5% compared with the previous seven days. A further 74 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, meaning the seven-day total was up by almost 16% from the previous week.

China says U.S. COVID origins report is without credibility

A declassified U.S. intelligence report saying it was plausible that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a laboratory is unscientific and has no credibility, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a statement on Sunday. The updated U.S. intelligence briefing, published on Saturday, said that a natural origin and a lab leak were both plausible hypotheses to explain how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, first infected humans, but that the truth may never be known.

Indonesian researchers breed 'good' mosquitoes to combat dengue

Researchers in Indonesia have found a way to fight disease-bearing mosquitoes by breeding a species of the insect which carries a kind of bacteria that prevents viruses like dengue from growing inside them. Wolbachia is a common bacteria that occurs naturally in 60% of insect species, including some mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, dragonflies and butterflies. It is not, however, found in dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, according to non-profit World Mosquito Program (WMP), which initiated the research.

Bangkok welcomes first tourists for quarantine-free holiday

Hundreds of vaccinated foreign tourists are scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on Monday, the first wave of visitors to Thailand in 18 months who will not have to undergo quarantine for the coronavirus. Seeking to resurrect its pandemic-ravaged tourism economy, Thailand's government has given the green light to vaccinated tourists from more than 60 countries, including the United States and China.

Analysis-Texas abortion law critics warn conservatives of unintended consequences

As abortion providers backed by President Joe Biden's administration prepare for Monday's U.S. Supreme Court arguments in their challenge to a near-total ban on the procedure in Texas, they have found an unlikely ally: a right-leaning gun rights group. A "friend of the court" brief filed in the case by the Firearms Policy Coalition against Republican-governed Texas illustrates how the law's unique structure - enforcement by private individuals, not the state - has alarmed advocates for all kinds of constitutionally protected rights.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)