Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Indonesia to boost social, health spending amid virus battle
Indonesia will increase social assistance and healthcare spending in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases and to soften the economic blow of tougher restrictions taking effect this week, its finance minister said on Friday. Battling one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, the world’s fourth most populous country has seen record new infections on eight of the past 12 days, including 25,830 on Friday, and a record 539 deaths.
India’s death toll from coronavirus crosses 400,000; vaccination drive falters
India’s official death toll from the coronavirus topped 400,000 on Friday, though experts say the actual number of dead could have reached one million or even higher, with a possible third wave of infections looming. India added 100,000 deaths in 39 days, a Reuters tally showed, as a brutal second wave of infections swept across cities and into the vast countryside where millions remain vulnerable without a single shot of vaccines.
J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine shows promise against Delta variant
Johnson & Johnson said late Thursday that its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine showed promise against the highly contagious Delta variant in a laboratory study. An analysis of blood from eight patients showed that immune responses elicited by the vaccine against the Delta variant, first identified in India, were at a higher level than against the Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa.
GSK, Alector to develop Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s drugs in $2.2 billion deal
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and U.S. firm Alector Inc will together develop antibody-based treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases in a deal worth up to $2.2 billion, the drugmakers said on Friday. The tie-up comes weeks after U.S. authorities approved the first new Alzheimer’s drug in almost two decades, Biogen Inc’s Aduhelm, reinvigorating the industry’s efforts to develop more treatments in a challenging therapy category.
COVID Delta variant now represents a third of French COVID cases – minister
The Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus now represents around a third of COVID cases in France, said French Health Minister Olivier Veran on Friday. Veran’s latest estimate on the highly transmissible Delta variant, first found in India, compared to an earlier estimate he made on June 29, when said it represented around 20% of French cases.
Germany alters vaccine mix to better tackle Delta variant
German Health Minister Jens Spahn announced measures on Friday to boost the effectiveness of the country’s vaccination programme against an expected wave of the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is more infectious. Spahn told reporters that it would in future be possible to combine a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine with a second shot of an mRNA vaccine like those from BioNTech/Pfizer or Moderna.
EU working to allow travel for AstraZeneca’s India vaccine jab, Commission says
The European Commission said on Friday it is looking at ways to agree a coordinated approach to accepting the Indian version of AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) shot, Covishield, across the European Union but will need some time. The Commission reiterated that the jab, which has been given to millions of Britons, is not yet approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or recognised under the EU’s new vaccine passport scheme to travel freely within the bloc from July 1.
Russia’s COVID-19 daily death toll climbs to new pandemic high
Russia registered a record number of daily COVID-19-related deaths on Friday amid a surge in cases across the world’s largest country that the authorities blame on the infectious Delta variant. The government’s coronavirus taskforce said 679 people had died in the last 24 hours, the highest figure confirmed in a single day since the pandemic began.
Science, industry team up in Italy to zap virus with laser
A United Nations-backed scientific research centre has teamed up with an Italian tech firm to explore whether laser light can be used to kill coronavirus particles suspended in the air and help keep indoor spaces safe. The joint effort between the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) of Trieste, a city in the north of Italy, and the nearby Eltech K-Laser company, was launched last year as COVID-19 was battering the country.
Delta variant sweeps Asia, prompting curbs as vaccination remains tepid
The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is surging through Asia this week, with record numbers of infections in Australia and South Korea, prompting some countries to tighten curbs and others to hasten vaccination. The variant, first detected in India in December last year, has spread to about 100 countries and the World Health Organisation warned recently that it could soon become the dominant form of the virus. It is also driving a spike in cases in Japan, casting a pall over this month’s Olympic Games.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
