Health News Roundup: Austrian chancellor expects tighter COVID rules to remain past Christmas -newspaper; Global COVID-19 cases near 250 million as Delta surge eases and more

The latest figures from the health ministry showed three deaths on Saturday. U.S. administers 430.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC The United States has administered 430,927,624 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed 534,081,335 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Austrian chancellor expects tighter COVID rules to remain past Christmas -newspaper

Austria's latest measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus will likely stay in force over Christmas and New Year, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg was quoted as saying on Sunday, as the country posted a record number of infections. The country reported 9,943 new infections within a 24 hour period on Saturday, surpassing the previous worst day of Nov. 13 2020 when 9,586 cases were recorded.

Global COVID-19 cases near 250 million as Delta surge eases

Worldwide cases due to COVID-19 were approaching 250 million on Sunday as the surge from the Delta variant eases and more normal trade and tourism resume, although some countries in eastern Europe are experiencing record outbreaks. Over the last three months, the daily average number of cases has fallen by 36%, according to a Reuters analysis.

AC Immune says number of families affected by Alzheimer's could nearly triple by 2050

Alzheimer's drug developer AC Immune expects the number of families to be affected by the degenerative disease could nearly triple by 2050 to 150 million, its CEO said in an interview with a German magazine. The company recently secured a multi-million investment from the main backers of German COVID-19 vaccine developer BioNTech while acquiring a possible Parkinson's disease vaccine.

Sydney to further ease COVID-19 curbs on Monday as vaccinations pick up

Australia's largest city of Sydney will further ease social distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly 100 days, as close to 90% of people have got both doses of vaccine, officials said. Although limited to people who are fully inoculated, the relaxation in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, lifts limits on house guests or outdoor gatherings, among other measures.

Australia begins vaccine booster rollout as more curbs ease in Sydney

Australia will begin administering booster shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Monday as millions in its largest city, Sydney, woke up to more freedom amid an accelerating immunization drive against the coronavirus. Australia's vaccination rate has picked up pace since July, after widely missing its initial targets, when its southeast was hit by a third wave of infections triggered by the highly infectious Delta variant forcing months-long lockdowns.

Costa Rica issues COVID-19 vaccine requirement for children

Costa Rican children aged five and up must get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new health ministry mandate, making the Central American country one of the first to adopt such a requirement for kids. The move would add COVID-19 to a list of other infectious diseases in which vaccines for children have for years been required, including polio and smallpox.

UK to roll out COVID-19 antiviral drug trial this month -Health Security Agency

Britain will start to roll out Merck's molnupiravir COVID-19 antiviral pill through a drug trial later this month, Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday. Last week Britain became the first country in the world to approve the potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill, jointly developed by U.S.-based Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

S.Korea to purchase 70,000 courses of new Pfizer COVID-19 pill

South Korea has agreed to buy 70,000 courses of Pfizer Inc's experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday. Pfizer on Friday said trial results showed that its Paxlovid pill reduced by 89% the risk of hospitalization or death in patients at high risk of severe illness within three days of the onset of coronavirus symptoms.

Japan has zero daily COVID-19 deaths for first time in 15 months - media

Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, according to local media. Prior to Sunday, there hadn't been a day without a COVID-19 death since Aug. 2, 2020, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK. The latest figures from the health ministry showed three deaths on Saturday.

U.S. administers 430.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 430,927,624 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed 534,081,335 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 429,442,508 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Nov. 6 out of 533,019,545 doses delivered.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)