The United States, European Union, India and South Africa reached a consensus on key elements of a long-sought intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a proposed text reviewed by Reuters.

The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to be 23.1 percent of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of March 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on March 15.

Many countries around the world that appeared to have kicked COVID-19 are reporting surges, largely the result of the so-called “stealth” Omicron variant, BA.2.

Eli Lilly

U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly said on March 15 the company would continue to supply drugs for urgent medical conditions such as cancer and diabetes to Russia, but will suspend all investments and no longer start new clinical studies in the country.

Genome sequencing group Illumina on March 15 launched a cancer test in Europe that checks for a wide range of tumor genes in one tissue sample, potentially helping patients with rare diseases to be matched up with treatment options.

The White House said on March 14 that the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 had been circulating in the United States for some time, with roughly 35,000 cases at the moment, and more money was needed to help fight it.

One in four children with COVID-19 symptoms develop “long COVID,” according to data pooled from 21 earlier studies conducted in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. Also, according to a study reported on March 14 in JAMA Pediatrics, women who wish to pass protective antibodies induced by COVID-19 vaccines to their babies via breast milk should opt for the mRNA shots from Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech.

Pfizer building

In response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pfizer will cease operations within Russia and proceeds from the company’s subsidiary in that country will be donated to provide direct humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. Regarding COVID-19, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla noted in an interview with Face the Nation that it is likely that a fourth booster shot of the company’s vaccine will be needed to fend off another surge of infections.

Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. and Bayer said on March 14 they would maintain humanitarian supply of medicines to Russia, but would pull back from other non-essential spending in the country.

Rhode Island was set to square off on March 14 against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., as a multibillion-dollar trial begins over whether the Israeli company contributed to an opioid crisis that has caused more than 500,000 deaths over the past two decades.