Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
COVID-19 pill developers aim to top Merck, Pfizer efforts
As Merck & Co and Pfizer Inc prepare to report clinical trial results for experimental COVID-19 antiviral pills, rivals are lining up with what they hope will prove to be more potent and convenient oral treatments of their own. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Pardes Biosciences, Japan’s Shionogi & Co Ltd and Novartis AG said they have designed antivirals that specifically target the coronavirus while aiming to avoid potential shortcomings such as the need for multiple pills per day or known safety issues.
Defying Delta: Back to school goes better than feared
School for children in many nations has been underway for more than a month and fears the Delta coronavirus variant would derail in-person learning have largely proven unfounded. In a dozen countries with high vaccination rates in Asia, Europe and the United States, case rates that surged in August have mostly fallen back, according to local data and officials.
Sanofi ditches mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after rivals’ success
Sanofi is dropping plans for its own mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine because of the dominance achieved by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna in using the technology to fight the pandemic, the company said on Tuesday. The move highlights the challenges of competing in particular with pioneer BioNTech, which rose from obscurity through its alliance with pharma major Pfizer last year. They have delivered close to 1.5 billion doses so far to become the Western world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine maker.
Turkish health minister says schools will never close despite high COVID-19 infections
Turkey will “never” close schools again despite a recent rise in COVID-19 infections and the government is mulling various methods to continue in-person education, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. After months of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkey reopened schools this month, while removing most restrictions over the summer. It also began asking for a negative PCR test or proof of vaccination from teachers and also for certain public events.
WTO chief says trade must do more to address ‘devastating’ vaccine inequity
The head of the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday that the low COVID-19 vaccination rate of around 4% in Africa was “devastating”, saying that trade should help address vaccine inequity. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s remarks came at the opening session of a Geneva-based trade event alongside South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Pfizer submits data for COVID-19 vaccine use in younger kids
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE on Tuesday submitted initial trial data for their COVID-19 vaccine in 5-11 year olds and said they would make a formal request with U.S. regulators for emergency use in the coming weeks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this month it would look to complete its data review for this age group as quickly as possible, likely in a matter of weeks rather than months. That could mean an authorization of the shot for children by the end of October, sources have told Reuters.
WHO chief expects collaboration of China, others on virus origins follow-up
The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that he expected all countries, including China, to collaborate in the second phase of a probe into the origins of the coronavirus after an initial mission to China. Speaking at a Geneva-based event on trade and COVID-19, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he hoped that the next phase of studies would begin as soon as possible.
Egypt allows immediate COVID-19 vaccination amid fourth wave
Egypt is now providing immediate COVID-19 vaccinations at youth centres across the country without prior online registration, a step aimed at encouraging vaccinations and relieving pressure on hospitals and health units amid a fourth wave of infections. Nearly 270 youth centres are now open for citizens to get the vaccines, the health ministry said, bringing the total number of vaccination sites across the country to 1,100.
After government pledge of ‘best summer ever,’ COVID swamps Alberta hospitals, premier
Premier Jason Kenney promised Albertans the “best summer ever” when he lifted most COVID-19 public health restrictions on July 1, but a surge in infections has overwhelmed the province’s hospitals and left him fighting to save his political career. The western Canadian province is often called “the Texas of the North” for its oil and gas wealth, cowboy culture and conservative, independent mindset.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
