Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Factbox-Vaccines donated by the United States and China
Both the United States and China have pledged large donations of COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. Washington has promised 80 million doses, three-quarters of which will be delivered via the international vaccine initiative COVAX, in what has been seen as an effort to counter China’s widening vaccine diplomacy. It began deliveries last week. China had shipped vaccines to 66 countries in the form of aid, according to state news agency Xinhua. Beijing has not disclosed an overall figure for its donations but Reuters calculations based on publicly available data show at least 16.57 million doses have been delivered. China has also pledged to supply 10 million doses to COVAX.
U.S. CDC eases travel recommendations on some 110 countries, territories including Japan
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased travel recommendations for more than 110 countries and territories, including Japan just ahead of the Olympics. The CDC’s new ratings, first reported by Reuters and posted on a CDC website on Monday, include 61 nations that were lowered from its highest “Level 4” rating that discouraged all travel to recommending travel for fully vaccinated individuals, the agency confirmed on Tuesday.
Runner with Alzheimer’s hopes new drug will keep him on track
For Bill McKay, 69, of Haslett, Michigan, the U.S. approval of Biogen Inc’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug on Monday offers hope that the veteran of 29 marathons can keep on running. For his wife, Jill McKay, 66, an office manager, it offers the hope that he will not get lost along the way.
Australia’s Melbourne to exit COVID-19 lockdown but some restrictions remain
Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne will exit a COVID-19 hard lockdown as planned on Thursday night, Victoria state authorities said, although some restrictions on travel and gatherings would likely remain for another week. After two weeks in a strict lockdown that forced people to remain home except for essential business, Melbourne’s five million residents will get more freedom to step outside from 11:59 p.m. local time (1359 GMT) on Thursday.
Pfizer to test COVID-19 vaccine in larger group of children below 12
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will begin testing its COVID-19 vaccine in a larger group of children under age 12 after selecting a lower dose of the shot in an earlier stage of the trial. The study will enroll up to 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the United States, Finland, Poland, and Spain, the company said.
India records 92,596 new COVID-19 cases over past 24 hours
India on Wednesday reported 92,596 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours and 2,219 deaths from the coronavirus. The country’s total COVID-19 caseload now stands at 29.1 million, while total fatalities are at 353,528, according to data from the health ministry.
Blinken casts doubt on methodology of coronavirus lab-leak report
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cast doubt on Tuesday on the methodology of a report on the origins of COVID-19 cited by the Wall Street Journal that concluded the hypothesis of a virus leak from a Chinese lab was plausible. “I saw the report. I think it’s on a number of levels, incorrect,” Blinken told a Senate committee hearing on the State Department’s budget request when asked about the Journal article.
Explainer-China’s Mojiang mine and its role in the origins of COVID-19
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged China to release information about six laborers who fell ill after working in a mine in Yunnan province in 2012 and are now seen as a key part of efforts to find the origins of COVID-19. The workers, ages 30 to 63, were scrubbing a copper seam clean of bat faces in April 2012. Weeks later, they were admitted to a hospital in the provincial capital of Kunming with persistent coughs, fevers, head and chest pains and breathing difficulties. Three eventually died.
Singapore’s death toll from COVID-19 tops casualties in SARS outbreak
Singapore has reported its 34th death due to COVID-19, taking its toll from the pandemic beyond the 33 casualties recorded during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. The city-state was one of the worst-hit countries by SARS outside mainland China, based on numbers of infection and death, according to the World Health Organization’s data.
Meet Grace, the healthcare robot COVID-19 created
The Hong Kong team behind celebrity humanoid robot Sophia is launching a new prototype, Grace, targeted at the healthcare market and designed to interact with the elderly and those isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dressed in a blue nurse’s uniform, Grace has Asian features, collar-length brown hair, and a thermal camera in her chest to take your temperature and measure your responsiveness. She uses artificial intelligence to diagnose a patient and can speak English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
