Health
EU action to turn the AMR tide looks at different incentive models
EU policymakers are being urged to consider the full range of new incentive systems and pilot innovative approaches to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including Netflix-style subscription services and pull incentives.
Delta COVID variant now dominates European region, warn WHO and ECDC
The COVID Delta variant has swept rapidly across Europe to become the dominant strain across much of the region according to new data from European health authorities, who warn that action must be taken to curtail its spread.
EU hopes Lyme disease vaccine may boost struggles to reverse curve
Lyme disease cases are growing in the EU. So far the only prevention measures are clothing and fast removal of the tick, but a new vaccine underway could change this.
Argentina complains to Russia over vaccine delivery
Argentina has complained to Russia about delays in delivering second doses of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a letter warning of breach of contract repercussions, the government in Buenos Aires said Thursday (22 July).
Half of Europeans vaccinated as Germany warns on rising virus cases
More than half of all European adults are now fully vaccinated, the EU said on Thursday (22 July), as countries across Europe and Asia battled fresh outbreaks blamed on the fast-spreading Delta variant.
‘Pingdemic’ grips Britain as fears of food shortages grow
Britain's supermarkets, wholesalers and hauliers were struggling on Thursday (22 July) to ensure stable food and fuel supplies after an official health app told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate after contact with someone with COVID-19.
China rejects WHO plan for study of COVID-19 origin
China rejected on Thursday (22 July) a World Health Organization (WHO) plan for a second phase of an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, which includes the hypothesis it could have escaped from a Chinese laboratory, a top health...
Spain votes to end obligatory outdoor face mask rule
The end of the obligation to wear face masks outdoors in Spain when social distancing is practicable, as decreed on 26 June by the government, was approved by parliament on Wednesday, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.
One in two hospitalised COVID-19 patients develop a complication
A study published in the Lancet has found that out of more than 70,000 adults in the UK hospitalised with severe COVID-19 disease, half developed at least one health complication during their hospitalisation, while almost one in three participants died....
Spain fully vaccinates half the population
Just over half of Spain’s population, or 24.4 million people, are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the health ministry. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.
‘Hidden pandemic’: 1.5 mln children worldwide have lost a caregiver due to COVID
As many as 1.5 million children worldwide have lost a parent, grandparent, or primary caregiver from COVID-19 during the first 14 months of the pandemic, a Lancet global study has estimated. Researchers have called for urgent investments in services to support children who lost their caregivers as the number is likely to grow.
Catalonia reimposes night-time curfew amid COVID-19 fifth wave
The High Court of Justice of Catalonia greenlit on Friday a nighttime curfew in 161 municipalities of the northeastern Spanish region as COVID-19 cases rose and hospitals face growing pressure, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported Sunday.
Protein subunit and inactivated vaccines line up to join vaccination campaigns
The EU seems to be comfortable with betting on mRNA COVID vaccines for now. But just around the corner, vaccines developed under other platforms are lining up, with recombinant proteins and the whole virion-inactivated vaccines leading the way.
Spanish firm finetunes ‘second generation’ COVID-19 vaccine for EU’s booster campaign
A Spanish company active in animal health stands ready to start clinical trials and get the EU's regulatory go-ahead for a 'deadline-proof' recombinant protein vaccine. EURACTIV spoke with the company's chief of the vaccine programme.
COVID-19 infection rate rises threefold among young Spaniards
The COVID-19 infection rate in Spain has soared to 436 cases for every 100,000 residents in the past two weeks, with young people particularly affected by a threefold increase compared to the previous fortnight, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.
MEPs are calling for complete elimination of cancer-causing asbestos
The European Parliament has called for the creation of a strategy to completely eliminate cancer-causing asbestos in a bid to strengthen workers' protection and reduce exposure to this common chemical.
Promising portable kidney faces innovation, portability bottlenecks
Portable artificial kidney is perceived as the next big thing in the field of home treatment that could stop dialysis being a full-time job for patients, but barriers to its rollout persist.
French health agency: Women’s health more affected by pandemic than men’s
The coronavirus pandemic has affected women more than men in France in 2020, according to the national public health agency Santé Publique France, which said that women's socioeconomic status played a greater role than purely health factors. EURACTIV France reports.
Researchers call for political action to reduce alcohol consumption
A study by Lancet Oncology has found that 4% of all newly diagnosed cancers in 2020 may be associated with drinking alcohol, with the highest proportion, or some 6%, in Central and Eastern Europe.
EU efforts to assess Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine stymied by data gaps
The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process, according to five people with knowledge of EU efforts to assess the drug.
Reform of EU medicines agency: Where do EU institutions stand?
The European Parliament adopted a proposal last week to broaden the mandate of the European Medicines Agency ahead of upcoming talks with member states on EMA's future role. EURACTIV takes a look at where the Parliament and the Council stand ahead of the negotiations.
Israel changes strategy as Delta variant makes 90% of the cases
Four weeks ago, Israel was celebrating a return to normal life in its battle with COVID-19. Then came the more infectious Delta variant, and a surge in cases that has forced re-imposing some COVID-19 restrictions and rethinking strategy.
EU matchmaking event to boost COVID-19 therapeutics development
Today and tomorrow (12-13 July) the Commission is hosting a matchmaking event to mobilise the development and production of COVID-19 therapeutics, another tool in the fight against COVID-19.