Reuters Health News Summary

"I’m feeling well and symptom free," Bourla said in a statement. Moderna seeks FDA nod for Omicron-targeted COVID shot for adolescents, younger kids Moderna Inc said on Friday it has requested U.S. authorization for use of its Omicron-targeting COVID vaccine in adolescents and children.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Prominent Chinese commentator urges COVID experts to 'speak out'

Prominent Chinese commentator Hu Xijin said on Sunday that as China ponders its COVID-19 policies, epidemic experts need to speak out and China ought to conduct comprehensive research and make any studies transparent to the public. Hu's unusual call on Chinese social media for candour and transparency earned him 34,000 likes on the popular Twitter-like microblog Weibo, as well as frank responses from netizens in a normally tightly-policed internet quick to censor voices deemed a risk to social stability.

Biden to announce $1.5 billion to fight U.S. opioid crisis

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Friday nearly $1.5 billion to fund access to medications for opioid overdoses, sanctions against traffickers, and increased funding for law enforcement, the White House said. The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening nationwide opioid crisis, which according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data fueled more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year.

Pfizer CEO tests positive for COVID for a second time

Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Saturday he had tested positive for COVID-19. "I'm feeling well and symptom free," Bourla said in a statement.

Moderna seeks FDA nod for Omicron-targeted COVID shot for adolescents, younger kids

Moderna Inc said on Friday it has requested U.S. authorization for use of its Omicron-targeting COVID vaccine in adolescents and children. The company is seeking emergency use authorization of its updated vaccine in two age groups - adolescents aged 12 to 17 years and children aged six to 11.

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