Health News Roundup: Novavax's COVID-19 shot authorized in Taiwan for adults; Fears of waterborne disease rise in Bangladesh as floods recede and more

The agency said the applications "lacked sufficient evidence" to show that sale of the products would be appropriate for public health, following a nearly two-year-long review of data provided by the company. Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,200 globally - WHO More than 3,200 confirmed monkeypox cases and one death were reported to the World Health Organization as part of the current outbreak.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novavax's COVID-19 shot authorized in Taiwan for adults

Novavax Inc said on Thursday it received regulatory authorization in Taiwan for the use of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine in people aged 18 and older. Taiwan last year chose to get the Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine - Nuvaxovid - through the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, co-led by the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Fears of waterborne disease rise in Bangladesh as floods recede

Authorities in Bangladesh are bracing for the spread of waterborne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people stranded in their homes by flooding across a quarter of the country, an official said on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 rescue teams, along with the army, navy and air force, were trying to reach flood victims in 17 of the country's 64 districts and bring them water and other supplies, Atiqul Haque, director general of the Department of Disaster Management, told Reuters.

U.S. bans sales of Juul e-cigarettes, company to seek stay on enforcement

Sales of Juul e-cigarettes were blocked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, in a major blow to the once high-flying firm whose products have been tied to a surge in teenage vaping. The agency said the applications "lacked sufficient evidence" to show that sale of the products would be appropriate for public health, following a nearly two-year-long review of data provided by the company.

Monkeypox case count rises to more than 3,200 globally - WHO

More than 3,200 confirmed monkeypox cases and one death were reported to the World Health Organization as part of the current outbreak. There is need for intensified surveillance in the broader community, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday, adding that cases in non-endemic countries were still predominantly among men who have sex with men.

U.S. CDC advisers back Moderna COVID vaccine for teens, older children

Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday unanimously voted to recommend use of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendations soon, which would allow the U.S. government to start rolling out the Moderna vaccine for these age groups.

Some long COVID patients still have virus in the blood; Paxlovid rebound patients may need longer treatment

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Some long COVID patients still have virus in blood

UN readies for possible cholera outbreak after Afghanistan earthquake

The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said preparations were underway to avoid a cholera outbreak in Afghanistan after Wednesday's earthquake, saying that half a million cases of acute, watery diarrhoea had already been reported. "Cholera outbreaks in the aftermath of earthquakes are of particular and serious concern," OCHA said in a statement on Thursday. "Preparations to avoid an outbreak are underway."

GSK, Novartis pledge funds for diseases that mostly affect the poor

GSK and Novartis reinforced commitments on Thursday to tackle neglected tropical diseases, as world leaders and health experts gather in Rwanda to discuss ways to better combat illnesses affecting more than a billion people, mostly in impoverished communities. The intention is to spur a renewed effort to address some 20 diseases that have been eradicated in the developed world - ranging from leprosy to rabies - after the work in these areas was disrupted by the economic toll of the pandemic.

Juul's checkered e-cigarette journey cut short by FDA ban

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered Juul Labs Inc to stop selling its e-cigarettes in the United States, saying the company's data "lacked sufficient evidence" to show its products would be appropriate for the protection of public health. The following are significant events in the checkered history of Juul Labs, which started under the name of Ploom Inc:

White House: more COVID-19 tests available for blind and visually impaired people

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is making more COVID-19 tests available for people who are blind or visually impaired, White House COVID-19 response director Ashish Jha said on Thursday. The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases is down 4% from the prior week to 99,400 per day, said U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, and the seven-day average of daily deaths was down 16% from the prior week.

(With inputs from agencies.)