Day: July 27, 2021

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Pfizer and Moderna to increase the number of school-age children in their ongoing clinical trials to determine if their COVID-19 vaccines are safe for children under 12 years old.

The two drug makers are currently testing their respective vaccines on children between five and 11 years old to assess their chances of developing rare heart inflammation conditions that have been detected in young people under 30 who received the vaccine. The conditions include myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining around the heart.

The request could delay formal approval of the two dose vaccines for children in that age group. Moderna, which enrolled nearly 7,000 children in its initial phase of the trial, says it is “actively discussing” the proposal with the FDA. Pfizer, which has enrolled up to 4,500 children between 6 months to 12 years old, says it expects to have results for the 5-11 age group in September, followed by results for ages 2-5 years old shortly after.

The Biden administration said Monday that it will maintain any existing travel restrictions to the United States due to the rise of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19. The restrictions on dozens of nations across Europe and other parts of the globe, including China, were first imposed at the start of the pandemic in January 2020. The delta variant has been detected in more than 90 countries and comprises more than 80% of all new COVID-19 infections in the U.S.

The push for mandatory vaccinations among health care workers gained further momentum Monday when New York City announced a requirement for all of its municipal employees, including police officers and teachers, to either receive a COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing. The state of California also issued a mandatory vaccination order for all of its employees plus millions of public and private health care workers.

The two governments joined the U.S. Veterans Affairs department, which operates 1,700 medical centers and outpatient clinics for retired military personnel, in making vaccinations mandatory for most of its health care workers, becoming the first U.S. federal agency to impose such a demand.

In Australia, authorities in southern Victoria state said Tuesday that it will end a five-day hard lockdown on its 5 million residents imposed to battle a surge of new coronavirus infections due to the delta variant. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said schools, bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen, although households will not be permitted to welcome visitors.

Australia has been battling a surge of new COVID-19 cases since late June that has been traced to a Sydney airport limousine driver who tested positive for the delta variant after transporting international air crews. Health officials in New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, reported a new single-day record of 172 new infections on Tuesday. Ten people have died during the latest surge.

Australia has been largely successful in containing the spread of COVID-19 through aggressive lockdown efforts, posting just 33,266 total confirmed cases and 922 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. But it has proved vulnerable to fresh outbreaks due to a slow rollout of its vaccination campaign, with only 13% of its citizens fully vaccinated.

And Tokyo recorded 2,848 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday, a new single-day record for the host city of the pandemic-delayed Summer Olympics. The Japanese capital is under a fourth state of emergency that will remain in effect until August 22.

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA – The World Health Organization warns e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine and tobacco products threaten progress in the fight against tobacco use across the globe.

Many countries are making progress in adopting tobacco control measures to get their populations to quit smoking or to dissuade them from starting to smoke.

But a new World Health Organization report finds governments are no match for the tobacco industry. For the first time, the WHO is presenting new data on electronic delivery systems, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

The head of WHO’s Tobacco Control Program, Vinayak Prasad, tells VOA the tobacco industry is marketing these products to children and adolescents. He says e-cigarettes, which come in more than 15,000 different flavors, are being promoted to appeal to young people and get them hooked.

“But only three countries have banned the use of flavors and the rest do not. Also…42 percent of the countries only restrict sale to minors, so children are able to buy cigarettes…Children who start using e-cigarettes are twice likely to become regular tobacco users. That is dangerous. It risks the renormalization of tobacco in society” Prasad said.

WHO reports the proportion of people using tobacco has declined in most countries. However, the total number of people smoking remains stubbornly high because of population growth. The U.N. health agency estimates the number of current smokers at one billion. It adds eight million people die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses every year.

Prasad says more than 80 percent of tobacco users live in developing countries. He says the tobacco industry is fighting to prevent countries from adopting regulations against the use of so-called smokeless products.

“The biggest challenge of today is the tobacco industry coming out with products at a fairly high frequency, claiming it to be cleaner, safer, less harmful, and putting the governments under a lot of pressure,” Prasad said.

There is limited evidence that electronic devices are effective in weaning people off tobacco. WHO recommends the use of conventional quitting regimens. It also advises governments to implement regulations to stop non-smokers from starting.

It says conventional tobacco control measures can be effective in protecting young people from the harmful use of e-cigarettes. These include raising taxes, pictorial health warnings, and bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

Source: Voice of America