(Reuters) – Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday he would step down from his positions as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as chief medical adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden in December.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Chinese President Xi sent his sympathy and well wishes to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida over his infection with COVID-19, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.
* Millions of Philippine students returned to classrooms for the first time in more than two years on Monday, after the country lifted most remaining COVID-19 curbs to try and reverse learning losses.
* North Korea imported more than 1 million facial masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves from China in July, shortly before declaring victory over COVID-19, Chinese trade data showed on Saturday.
* Mainland China reported 1,985 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 21, of which 427 were symptomatic and 1,558 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.
AMERICAS
* Moderna Inc said it will supply 12 million doses of its variant-adapted shot that targets the Omicron version of the coronavirus to Canada.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday signed off on the use of Novavax Inc’s vaccine for adolescents aged 12 through 17.
* U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after isolating for five days following a positive test, the White House said on Sunday.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech said they had sought U.S. authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine retooled to target the Omicron variant.
* Swiss pharma company Roche Holding launched a COVID-19 test that detects and differentiates the emerging variant of interest BA.2.75.
* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Pfizer Inc to test the effects of an additional course of its antiviral Paxlovid among people who experience a rebound in COVID-19 after treatment, the regulator said on Friday.
* Canada’s health ministry on Friday said it had authorized the use of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for children five to 11 years old at least six months after receiving their initial two doses.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares slipped on Monday and the dollar extended its climb amid angst over global growth as most major banks keep raising rates, while a modest easing by China served only to highlight troubles in its property market.
* China cut its benchmark lending rate and lowered the mortgage reference by a bigger margin on Monday, adding to last week’s easing measures, as Beijing boosts efforts to revive an economy hobbled by a property crisis and a resurgence of COVID cases.
* Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group swung to an annual loss on Monday, hurt by long spells of COVID-19-led property and border closures and regulatory reviews.
(Compiled by Alessandro Parodi and Subhranshu Sahu; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
