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Australia rules out adding J&J vaccine to inoculation plan

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ??" The Australian government said Tuesday it had decided against buying the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and identified a second case of a rare blood clot likely linked to the AstraZeneca shot.

The government had been in talks with the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant, which had asked the Australian regulator, Therapeutic Goods Administration, for provisional registration.

But Health Minister Greg Hunt ruled out a J&J contract because its vaccine was similar to the AstraZeneca product, which Australia had already... Read More

India reels amid virus surge, affecting world vaccine supply

NEW DELHI (AP) ??" The Indian city of Pune is running out of ventilators as gasping coronavirus patients crowd its hospitals. Social media is full of people searching for beds, while relatives throng pharmacies looking for antiviral medicines that hospitals ran out of long ago.

The surge, which can be seen across India, is particularly alarming because the country is a major vaccine producer and a critical supplier to the U.N.-backed COVAX initiative. That program aims to bring shots to some of the world's poorest countries. Already the rise in cases has forced India to focus on... Read More

Microsoft buying speech recognition firm Nuance in $16B deal

Microsoft, on an accelerated growth push, is buying speech recognition company Nuance in a deal worth about $16 billion.

The acquisition will get Microsoft deeper into hospitals and the health care industry through Nuance's widely used medical dictation and transcription tools.

Microsoft will pay $56 per share cash. That's a 23% premium to Nuance's Friday closing price. The companies value the transaction including debt at $19.7 billion.

Shares of Burlington, Massachusetts-based Nuance surged about 16% in Monday trading.

Nuance has been a pioneer... Read More

California re-opens enrollment for health insurance coverage

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ??" California on Monday re-opened enrollment for its state health insurance exchange, hoping more people will buy coverage now that the federal government is offering new assistance that could lower monthly premiums by $1,000 or more in some cases.

Normally, people can only buy health insurance through the state exchange ??" known as Covered California ??" once per year during an open enrollment period. But last month, President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. About $3 billion of that money is coming to California in the form... Read More

Bulgarian Muslims hold circumcision festival despite virus

RIBNOVO, Bulgaria (AP) ??" On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims from the southwestern corner of Bulgaria flocked to the sleepy mountain village of Ribnovo for a four-day festival of feasting, music and mass circumcisions.

This year's event in Ribnovo, a mountain village 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital, Sofia, was overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Since most of the festivities, however, took place outdoors, the community decided to keep their tradition alive and maintain the circumcision ceremony, which is considered by Muslims a religious duty... Read More

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Australia rules out adding J&J vaccine to inoculation plan

India reels amid virus surge, affecting world vaccine supply

Microsoft buying speech recognition firm Nuance in $16B deal

California re-opens enrollment for health insurance coverage

Bulgarian Muslims hold circumcision festival despite virus

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