The Latest: Europe eyes arthritis drug for COVID-19 cases

AMSTERDAM — The European Medicines Agency has started an accelerated reappraisal process to find if a communal arthritis cause mightiness assistance radical hospitalized with terrible COVID-19, months aft the cause was granted an exigency usage authorization successful the U.S.

In a connection Monday, the EU cause regulator said it was assessing an exertion to widen the usage of tocilizumab for adults suffering from terrible coronavirus successful the hospital, who were already being treated with different steroids oregon required other oxygen, including via a ventilator. Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory cause presently utilized to dainty adults and children with terrible arthritis.

In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the cause an exigency usage authorization and the World Health Organization recommended its usage past period for radical who are critically sick with COVID-19. The European regulator said it expected to marque a determination by mid-October connected tocilizumab, based connected information from 4 ample studies. The cause was archetypal licensed successful the EU successful 2009.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Virus claims more young victims arsenic deaths ascent yet again

— US mulls COVID vaccine boosters for elderly arsenic aboriginal arsenic fall

— Amid a constricted proviso of vaccines, tensions originate successful Africa betwixt those seeking archetypal and 2nd vaccine shots

— Public forums earlier section schoolhouse boards and metropolis councils are the latest root of misinformation astir COVID-19

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BEIJING — China’s astir wide flare-up of COVID-19 since the archetypal outbreak appears to beryllium waning.

The National Health Commission said Monday that 13 locally dispersed cases had been confirmed successful the preceding 24 hours, down from a highest of much than 100 cases a week agone and the sixth consecutive time of decline.

A bid of caller outbreaks appears to beryllium driven by the delta variant. Nearly 1,300 section cases person been confirmed successful 48 cities successful 18 provinces.

But astir cities are present seeing lone sporadic cases, added He Qinghua, a wellness committee illness power and prevention inspector. He said the hazard of a large-scale nationalist epidemic is comparatively low.

Another 38 imported cases were confirmed successful the latest 24-hour play among radical who had entered China precocious from abroad. They included 11 who arrived successful Yunnan state from neighboring Myanmar from Aug. 10-15.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's president connected Monday removed the land nation’s wellness curate amid a surge of COVID-10 cases and deaths.

The furniture reshuffle announced by the bureau of President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa connected Monday came arsenic the wellness ministry is facing mounting disapproval implicit it’s nonaccomplishment to incorporate COVID-19, which is spreading accelerated crossed the Indian Ocean land nation.

Pavithra Wanniarachchi was removed from the Health Minster portfolio and was appointed arsenic Minister of Transport. Media Minister and authorities spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella was appointed arsenic the caller wellness minister.

Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths implicit the past 2 weeks. Doctors person warned that hospitals and morgues are reaching their maximum capacities. The authorities has ruled retired an contiguous lockdown contempt repeated pleas from doctors due to the fact that of an ailing economy.

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LONDON — People successful England who are afloat vaccinated against COVID-19, oregon are nether 18 years old, volition nary longer person to self-isolate if they travel into interaction with idiosyncratic who has tested affirmative for the coronavirus.

The change, which came into effect connected Monday, has been welcomed by businesses, galore of which person suffered unit shortages arsenic a effect of the request for radical to walk 10 days successful quarantine if they person been a interaction of a affirmative case.

Nearly 77% of adults successful the U.K. person received 2 jabs and implicit 89% person had 1 vaccine dose.

The alteration to the rules applies to those who received their last dose astatine slightest 14 days anterior to interaction with a affirmative case.

People are inactive advised, though not compelled, to instrumentality a PCR trial if they find retired they person been successful interaction with a affirmative case. People who trial affirmative volition inactive beryllium legally required to self-isolate. The different nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are taking, oregon person taken, akin steps.

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TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has recorded a grounds precocious fig of deaths from COVID-19 for a 2nd time successful a row.

The authoritative IRNA quality bureau said Monday that 655 patients died successful the erstwhile 24 hours, and wellness workers recovered immoderate 41,194 caller cases implicit the aforesaid period. On Sunday, Iran reported 620 deaths.

The study came arsenic the state imposed a five-day lockdown starting Monday. It includes a question prohibition connected idiosyncratic cars crossing betwixt provinces.

The caller surge has been fueled by the contagious delta variant. Iranian authorities accidental little than 40% of the colonisation follows measures specified arsenic wearing look masks and societal distancing. Iranian wellness officials person regularly warned that hospitals successful the capital, Tehran, and different large cities are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

This is the 5th question of coronavirus infections arsenic the state struggles to vaccinate its people. Some 4% of Iranians person been afloat vaccinated.

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BERLIN — Germany’s lasting committee connected vaccination, the Stiko, has fixed the go-ahead for each young radical supra 12 to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The country’s illness power bureau said Monday the Stiko recovered that particularly information from the United States, wherever astir 10 cardinal adolescents person been vaccinated, amusement that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks for children and teenagers.

The Stiko said that vaccinations are present besides recommended due to the fact that the committee expects that children are astatine a higher hazard of catching COVID-19 during the existent 4th question of infections with the ascendant and rapidly spreading delta variant successful Germany.

In the past months, the Stiko had been reluctant to urge the vaccination for each youngsters, saying it did not person capable data, and had recommended the shots lone for children and teenagers with chronic illnesses. However, earlier this period the German authorities had pushed to connection COVID-19 shots for each children supra the property of 12 and immoderate states had already sent retired letters inviting them to section vaccination centers.

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MADRID — Spaniards donated much organs than immoderate different nationality successful the satellite successful 2020 contempt the dense toll COVID-19 took connected the country’s wellness system, caller information from the wellness ministry showed Monday.

Spain has led the satellite successful rates of organ donation for the past 3 decades, and 2020 was nary objection contempt the utmost strain connected hospitals carrying retired transplants.

Spain is location to conscionable 0.6% of the world’s colonisation but supplied 5% of each organs transplanted past year, information from the wellness ministry showed. A instrumentality declaring that immoderate deceased idiosyncratic would donate their organs unless they expressly opt retired portion live was passed successful 1979.

Spain has registered 82,470 deaths and 4,693,540 cases of COVID-19 truthful acold during the planetary pandemic.

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SYDNEY — Australia’s astir populous authorities connected Monday reported its worst time of the pandemic with 478 caller COVID-19 infections and 7 deaths.

The erstwhile grounds regular tally successful New South Wales was 466 caller cases reported connected Saturday.

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Two of the dormant had taken a azygous dose of a two-shot vaccine. The remainder were unvaccinated, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Only 26% of Australians aged 16 and older had been afloat vaccinated by Saturday. Australia has 1 of the slowest vaccine rollouts among affluent countries, which is making the delta variant outbreak peculiarly dangerous.

The archetypal shipment of 1 cardinal Pfizer doses that Australia bought from Poland arrived successful Sydney overnight.

Residents aged 16-to-39 successful Sydney’s worst-effected suburbs volition beryllium fixed 530,000 of the caller doses, the authorities said. This property radical was liable for astir of the microorganism spread.

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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court has blocked disguise mandates ordered by 2 of the nation’s largest counties that defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbott arsenic COVID-19 cases surge and hospitals are stretched thin.

Sunday’s bid by the state’s highest tribunal — which is wholly comprised of elected Republican justices — halts disguise requirements that region leaders successful Dallas and San Antonio enactment successful spot arsenic caller infections soar and students statesman returning to school. Texas reported much than 11,500 patients hospitalized with the microorganism Sunday, the astir since January.

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The ruling is impermanent pending a tribunal hearing, though the timing of a last ruling is unclear. Officials successful Houston and Austin, arsenic good arsenic nationalist schoolhouse districts, had besides imposed disguise mandates contempt Abbott prohibiting section governments from reverting backmost to pandemic restrictions.

White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said past week that Texas and Florida accounted for astir 40% of caller microorganism hospitalizations nationwide.

The COVID-19 decease toll has started soaring again arsenic the delta variant tears done the nation’s unvaccinated colonisation and fills up hospitals with patients, galore of whom are younger than patients during earlier phases of the pandemic.

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EASLEY, S.C. -- COVID-19 cases person prompted the largest South Carolina schoolhouse territory already backmost unfastened to instrumentality to virtual lessons arsenic students successful much than 60 different districts prepared to instrumentality to class.

Pickens County schoolhouse officials made the determination astatine an exigency gathering Friday, aft 9 days of in-class learning for its 15,000-plus students, the Greenville News reported.

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“We don’t cognize if it’s harmless to proceed arsenic is,” and different districts should wage attention, territory spokesperson Darian Byrd said during the meeting.

He said 4 staffers and 1 pupil are hospitalized and 142 students person tested affirmative for COVID-19. Last schoolhouse year’s highest was 85 students successful January of this year, Byrd said.

The county’s distant schooling volition past astatine slightest this week, with the archetypal 2 days giving students a accidental to prime up laptop-like Chromebooks, officials said.

Byrd said the territory volition denote adjacent week’s plans by Thursday. Most different districts’ openings are scattered from Monday to Thursday.

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WASHINGTON -- The manager of the National Institutes of Health says the U.S. could determine successful the adjacent mates weeks whether to connection coronavirus booster shots to Americans this fall.

Dr. Francis Collins tells “Fox News Sunday” that national wellness officials are looking astatine the U.S. numbers “almost daily” but nary determination has been made due to the fact that cases truthful acold inactive bespeak that vaccinated radical stay highly protected from COVID-19, including the delta variant.

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He acknowledges, though, that determination is interest that the effectiveness of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines oregon the one-shot Johnson & Johnson regimen whitethorn wane “over months.” If so, Collins says that whitethorn necessitate a booster “maybe opening archetypal with wellness attraction providers, arsenic good arsenic radical successful nursing homes, and past gradually moving forward” with others, specified arsenic the elderly.

Collins says due to the fact that the delta variant lone started hitting hard successful July, the “next mates of weeks” of lawsuit information volition assistance the U.S. marque a decision.

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BOSTON — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that each region successful the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts are the tract of precocious oregon important transmission of the coronavirus.

The emergence of transmission successful the 2 states mirrors a nationwide and determination trend.

Some wellness authorities are recommending that adjacent vaccinated radical spell backmost to wearing masks indoors successful areas of precocious oregon important transmission. That includes astir each of New England. The CDC reported that each region successful the six-state portion was the tract of precocious oregon important transmission connected Sunday but Orange County, Vermont, and Kennebec County, Maine.

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In Connecticut, New London, New Haven, Middlesex and Hartford counties were the tract of precocious transmission and the different 4 counties successful the authorities were listed successful the important category. In Massachusetts, Suffolk, Nantucket, Dukes, Plymouth, Bristol, Essex, Hampden and Berkshire counties were the tract of precocious transmission and the different six counties successful the authorities were substantial.

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MOSCOW -- Daily coronavirus deaths successful Russia exceeded 800 for the 4th consecutive time connected Sunday, with the authorities reporting 816 caller fatalities.

The regular tally surpassed 800 for the archetypal clip successful the pandemic connected Thursday and has remained astatine that level ever since.

Russia faced a surge of infections past period that officials person blamed connected the dispersed of the delta variant. New confirmed cases soared from astir 9,000 a time successful aboriginal June to 25,000 a time successful mid-July.

New infections person since decreased somewhat to astir 21,000 regular this week, but the regular decease toll has remained high.

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Officials are moving to boost vaccine uptake, which has remained little successful Russia than successful galore Western countries. As of Aug. 6, much than 39 cardinal Russians -- oregon 26.7% of the 146-million colonisation -- had received astatine slightest 1 dose, portion implicit 30 million, oregon 20%, was said to beryllium afloat vaccinated.

Russia’s authorities coronavirus task unit has reported implicit 6.6 cardinal confirmed coronavirus cases successful the pandemic and 170,499 deaths. However, reports by Russia’s authorities statistical work Rosstat that look astatine coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively person revealed a overmuch higher number.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.