Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Explainer: Should my teen get the COVID-19 vaccine?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12, widening the country’s inoculation program as vaccination rates have slowed significantly. The following information should help parents deciding whether to inoculate their adolescent children.
Poland brings forward reopening of cinemas, to vaccinate 16-year-olds
Poland will bring forward the reopening of cinemas and start vaccinating 16- and 17-year-olds, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as COVID-19 cases decline. The country reported 4,255 new cases on Wednesday, part of a marked decrease since the peak of the third wave in May, when there were as many as 35,253 daily cases. This has given authorities the confidence to ease restrictions faster than originally planned.
Australia taps Moderna for 25 million COVID-19 shots
Australia on Wednesday tapped Moderna Inc for 25 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, as the country tries to speed up its vaccination drive and cut reliance on AstraZeneca, whose shot has been linked to risks of rare blood clots. Moderna said it will provide 10 million doses against the original strain of the virus this year and 15 million doses of its updated variant booster candidate in 2022.
How can we stop the next pandemic? Here’s what a WHO panel recommends
A new global system should be set up to respond faster to disease outbreaks, which could ensure that no future virus causes a pandemic as devastating as COVID-19, an independent World Health Organization review panel said on Wednesday. The experts found crucial flaws in the global response in early 2020 – including a delay in declaring an emergency, a failure to impose travel restrictions and an entire “lost month” when countries neglected to respond to warnings – that let the virus quickly spread into a catastrophic pandemic.
Taiwan warns COVID alert level could rise, but not yet, shares tumble
Taiwan reported its largest daily rise in domestic COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, while the stock market tanked after the health minister warned the island could move to a higher alert level, though he later clarified that step was not imminent. Early and effective prevention steps succeeded in shielding Taiwan from the worst of the pandemic, with just 1,231 infections reported so far.
Far-flung U.S. citizens clamour for vaccines from embassies
Americans living abroad are asking Washington to send surplus coronavirus shots to overseas embassies so they can get a vaccine in countries where the pace of inoculations is slow and travelling home is difficult. Many of the estimated 8 million Americans living abroad argue they should have the same right to a vaccine as U.S. citizens back home. The U.S. vaccination drive covers all of the population and surplus doses are earmarked for donation to India and other nations.
UK’s PM Johnson announces COVID-19 public inquiry
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced an inquiry next year into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that is likely to focus on why the United Kingdom suffered Europe’s worst death toll and was so slow initially to impose a lockdown. Johnson and his ministers have admitted there are lessons to be learned from the worst public health crisis in decades, but point to the United Kingdom’s swift vaccine rollout as evidence that there were also successes.
‘A hell out here’: COVID-19 ravages rural India
India’s coronavirus death toll crossed a quarter million on Wednesday in the deadliest 24 hours since the pandemic began, as the disease rampaged through the countryside, overloading a fragile rural healthcare system. Boosted by highly infectious variants, the second wave erupted in February to inundate hospitals and medical staff, as well as crematoriums and mortuaries. Experts are still unable to say with certainty when the figures will peak.
Factbox: Three ways a panel says the WHO, states failed on COVID-19
The International Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response issued its report on Wednesday into the global handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for a new transparent global system to be set up for investigating disease outbreaks. The report, “COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic”, is to be debated at the World Health Organization’s annual ministerial assembly opening on May 24.
CDC panel meets on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine use in adolescents
Advisors to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet on Wednesday to discuss recommendations for the use of Pfizer and partner BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 12 to 15. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides recommendations to the CDC that many states will consider as they begin administering the two-shot vaccine to adolescents this week.
(With inputs from agencies.)
