Here is a summary of the current health briefs.
Vietnam approves Abdala vaccine as president visits Cuba
Vietnam has approved Cuba’s Abdala vaccine for use against the novel coronavirus, the government said on Saturday, as the Southeast Asian country grapples with its worst outbreak. Abdala becomes eighth COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Vietnam, which has one of the region’s lowest vaccination rates, with only 6.3% of its 98 million people having received at least two vaccines .
Explanation-The arguments for and against COVID-19 vaccine recalls
The U.S. government aims to begin widely offering booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine next week to Americans aged 16 and older. On Friday, a panel of external advisers from the Food and Drug Administration voted against such broad coverage, but supported a shot for people 65 and older, whom the agency may or may not follow. President Joe Biden’s administration faces criticism within the scientific community as to whether the additional injections are needed for the general population.
U.S. FDA Advisors Recommend COVID-19 Boosters For People 65+ After Rejecting Broad Approval
U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted on Friday to recommend booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for Americans 65 years and older and those at high risk of serious illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for wider approval. The panel also recommended that the FDA include healthcare workers and others at high risk of occupational exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19, such as teachers.
Some US hospitals forced to ration care amid staff shortages and COVID-19 outbreak
Increases in coronavirus cases in several US states this week, along with staff and equipment shortages, are taking a growing toll on hospitals and their workers even as the number of new admissions nationwide declines, leading to warnings in some establishments that care would be rationed. Montana, Alaska, Ohio, Wisconsin and Kentucky saw the largest increases in new hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the week ending September 10 compared to the previous week, with new hospitalizations in Montana increasing by 26%, according to the latest report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 14.
Singapore primary schools to go online as COVID-19 cases rise
Singapore’s primary schools will switch to home learning for 10 days ahead of a key national exam, the Education Ministry said on Saturday, as the country reported 935 new cases of COVID-19 the day before, the highest since April of last year. Pupils in grades 1 to 5 will switch to home learning from September 27 to October 6.
US administers approximately 384.9 million doses of COVID-19 -CDC vaccine
The United States administered 384,911,290 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday morning and distributed 466,569,635 doses, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those numbers are up from the 383,994,877 doses of vaccine that the CDC said it took up on September 17 out of 464,315,725 doses delivered.
Abu Dhabi cancels COVID-19 entry tests for UAE travelers
Abu Dhabi will revoke COVID-19 testing requirements to enter the emirate for travelers from the United Arab Emirates from Sunday, the United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said on Saturday. The capital of the United Arab Emirates had restricted entry into the emirate to those who tested negative for PCR. Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi removed the need to quarantine all vaccinated travelers arriving from international destinations.
Australian police clash with anti-containment protesters and arrest nearly 270
Australian police on Saturday arrested 235 people in Melbourne and 32 in Sydney during unauthorized anti-containment rallies and several police officers were injured in clashes with protesters. Victoria Police said six officers had to be hospitalized. Several policemen were thrown to the ground and trampled on, police said and shown television footage.
Chinese city affected by COVID asks residents to stay at home as holiday begins
A city in southeast China affected by COVID-19 on Saturday asked residents to stay in their homes and closed various locations as infections spread to the country’s last hotspot during a key period of vacation travel . The Xiamen government, in a series of notices, told residents not to leave their homes unnecessarily, closed parks, scenic spots and sports venues, and halted mass activities including tours, fairs and shows.
Italy reports 51 coronavirus deaths, 4,578 new cases on Saturday
Italy reported 51 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday compared to 66 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose slightly to 4,578 from 4,552. Italy recorded 130,284 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the outbreak of its epidemic in February last year, the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth in the world. The country has so far reported 4.63 million cases.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
