Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Quad-supported vaccine roll-out to begin in first half
The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines that are part of the Quad group of countries’ pledge to donate shots across the world, manufactured by India’s Biological E, will roll out in the first half of 2022, the grouping said in a statement on Friday. Last year, Australia, Japan, India and the United States, the grouping known as the Quad, promised to supply more than a billion COVID-19 vaccines worldwide by the end of 2022.
U.S. delays decision on COVID vaccine for children under 5 by at least 2 months
A U.S. decision on Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age has been postponed for at least two months after the Food and Drug Administration said it needed more data. The FDA had planned to make a decision on the vaccine based on early trial data because of what it had called a great public health need due to the surge in infections caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The decision was slated for next week with a rollout starting as soon as Feb. 21.
Exclusive-EU, Gates Foundation to support African medicines agency -source
The European Union and the Gates Foundation are set to announce financial support for nascent efforts to set up an African medicines regulator to boost the continent’s drugs and vaccine production, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency (AMA) came into force in November but the agency currently exists only on paper. So far just over half of the 55 African Union (AU) member states have ratified the treaty setting up the AMA.
U.S. poultry producers harden safety measures as bird flu spreads
U.S. poultry producers are tightening safety measures for their flocks as disease experts warn that wild birds are likely spreading a highly lethal form of avian flu across the country. Indiana on Wednesday reported highly pathogenic bird flu on a commercial turkey farm, leading China, South Korea and Mexico to ban poultry imports from the state. The outbreak put the U.S. industry on edge at a time that labor shortages are fueling food inflation.
U.S. FDA authorizes Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Eli Lilly and Co’s COVID-19 antibody drug for people aged 12 and older at risk of severe illness, adding a tool that has been found to work against the highly contagious Omicron variant. The FDA authorized bebtelovimab for emergency use in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death.
WHO adds Roche’s arthritis drug tocilizumab to COVID-19 medicines list
The World Health Organization said on Friday it had added its first monoclonal antibody tocilizumab to its so-called pre-qualification list, an official list of medicines used as a benchmark for procurement by developing countries. The WHO recommended the drug, manufactured by Roche and typically used to treat arthritis, only for patients diagnosed with severe or critical COVID-19.
EU investigates reports of menstrual disorders after mRNA COVID shots
The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee said on Friday it was reviewing reports of heavy menstrual bleeding and absence of menstruation from women who had received COVID vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The assessment was in view of reports of menstrual disorders after receiving either of the two vaccines, both based on messenger RNA technology, and it was not yet clear whether there was a causal link, the agency said.
Gilead says COVID drug remdesivir shows antiviral activity against Omicron, other variants
Gilead Sciences Inc’s drug, remdesivir, showed antiviral activity against Omicron, Delta and other variants of the coronavirus in laboratory studies, the company said on Friday. The study results showed similar activity of remdesivir against the variants and an early ancestral strain of the virus detected in Seattle, Washington, Gilead said.
WHO chief scientist: pandemic has not ended as more variants expected
The World Health Organization’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said on Friday that the world was not yet at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as there would be more coronavirus variants. “We have seen the virus evolve, mutate … so we know there will be more variants, more variants of concern, so we are not at the end of the pandemic,” Swaminathan told reporters in South Africa, where she was visiting vaccine manufacturing facilities with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Spreading version of Omicron resists lone effective drug; T cell defense vs Omicron deficient in some
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. Spreading version of Omicron resists lone effective drug
(With inputs from agencies.)
