Health News Roundup: Italy kicks off vaccination campaign against monkeypox; BioNTech expects Omicron-adapted vaccine deliveries as soon as October and more

The move comes days after Macau started to unwind stringent anti-COVID rules, including the resumption of travel to Zhuhai without quarantine from Aug. 3. Italy kicks off vaccination campaign against monkeypox Italy opened its vaccination campaign against monkeypox on Monday, as case numbers have increased at a time when health authorities are reporting vaccine shortages worldwide.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Hong Kong cuts COVID quarantine stay for incoming travellers

Hong Kong will shorten the COVID-19 hotel quarantine period for all arrivals to three days from seven, taking another step to gradually unwind stringent pandemic rules that have isolated the Asian financial hub. The measures will be effective from Friday, the city's leader, John Lee, told a news conference on Monday.

Macau returns to mass COVID testing after case in neighbouring Chinese city Zhuhai

Authorities in Macau instructed residents to conduct at least two days of COVID-19 tests after a person who travelled from the Chinese special administrative region to neighbouring city Zhuhai was found to have been infected with the virus. The move comes days after Macau started to unwind stringent anti-COVID rules, including the resumption of travel to Zhuhai without quarantine from Aug. 3.

Italy kicks off vaccination campaign against monkeypox

Italy opened its vaccination campaign against monkeypox on Monday, as case numbers have increased at a time when health authorities are reporting vaccine shortages worldwide. Italy has reported 545 cases of monkeypox, according to the health ministry. Its vaccination campaign has started more than a month after other countries that have seen higher numbers of cases, including the United States, Britain and Spain.

China's Hainan expands COVID lockdowns to quell outbreak

China's Hainan, an island province dependent on tourism, locked down more areas on Monday, state media reported, as it battles its worst COVID-19 outbreak after seeing very few cases in the past two years compared with many other regions in the country. The province, which recorded just two local symptomatic COVID cases last year, has reported more than 1,500 domestically transmitted infections this month, including over 1,000 symptomatic ones. Although that is low by global standards, it is Hainan's biggest outbreak since the virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

China's Tibet region faces rare COVID flareup, fresh curbs imposed

The Chinese autonomous region of Tibet, which had barely reported COVID patients for more than two years, is facing a spate of new infections, forcing it to impose various restriction in its second largest city. Tibet reported one infection with confirmed symptoms in January 2020, and then remained clear of cases for over 900 days, the best record among Chinese regions and provinces under China's "dynamic zero COVID" policy. Its disclosure of asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately, was less clear.

BioNTech expects Omicron-adapted vaccine deliveries as soon as October

BioNTech expects to begin deliveries of two Omicron-adapted vaccines as soon as October, which will help spur demand in the fourth quarter, the German biotech firm said on Monday as it reaffirmed its vaccine-revenue forecast for the year. Demand for the vaccine, 3.6 billion doses of which have been shipped globally, is waning as most people in the Western world have received three or four shots already.

Climate change puts Lyme disease in focus for France's Valneva after COVID blow

With climate change spurring more cases of tick-borne Lyme disease, drugmaker Valneva is betting big on a vaccine as it looks beyond disappointing sales of its COVID shot. Although Valneva secured European Union and British regulatory approval, both walked away from contracts worth more than a billion dollars combined, wiping nearly 40% off the value of Valneva's share price in the past six months.

Analysis: Democrats score big wins on climate, drugs with $430 billion U.S. Senate bill

Democrats scored a major policy victory when the U.S. Senate passed a $430 billion climate change, healthcare and tax bill that will help reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change while also cutting drug costs for the elderly. President Joe Biden's congressional allies hope the bill, which they pushed through the Senate over united Republican opposition, will boost their chances in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Republicans are favored to recapture the majority in at least one chamber of Congress.

Explainer: Monkeypox in the U.S. - Where could it spread next?

The United States declared monkeypox a public health emergency last week, an effort to bolster the U.S. response to contain the outbreak. The virus continues to be largely transmitted among gay and bisexual men, but experts say the disease could spill over into other populations, especially due to vaccine shortages. Monkeypox is spread by contact with puss-filled sores and is rarely fatal.

Amgen says Lumakras plus immunotherapy for lung cancer needs further study

A small study of Amgen Inc's Lumakras drug combined with immunotherapy found it helped 29% of advanced lung cancer patients, but liver toxicity was high and further study is needed, the company said ahead of the data presentation on Sunday at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Vienna. Nearly all of the 58 trial patients treated with the highest dose of genetic-mutation targeting Lumakras experienced elevated liver enzyme levels, and about 20% given the lowest dose saw significant liver toxicity, researchers said.

(With inputs from agencies.)