Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Flu season prep, complicated by COVID-19, starts early this year

Healthcare providers, including CVS Health Corp, are kicking off flu vaccinations early, ordering extra shots and aiming to add tests that check for both the annual flu and COVID-19, pharmacy executives and experts told Reuters. Flu vaccination for the fall has taken on increased urgency because of the potential for serious complications if patients contract both viruses at once.

Australia posts lowest one-day rise in COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks

Australia posted its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks on Thursday, stoking hopes that a second wave of new infections gripping Victoria state is finally being brought under control. Australia, once heralded as a global leader in combating COVID-19, has struggled to contain an outbreak in the country’s second most populous state, which has seen triple digit daily new cases for weeks.

Seven African countries to start testing for COVID-19 antibodies

Seven African countries will start administering coronavirus antibody tests from next week, a regional body said on Thursday, as part of efforts to understand the extent of the outbreak on the continent. “Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco are the first set of countries that committed to it,” said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Addis Ababa.

Explainer: Pandemic behaviour – Why some people don’t play by the rules

Lockdowns and social distancing measures introduced around the world to try and curb the COVID-19 pandemic are reshaping lives, legislating activities that were once everyday freedoms and creating new social norms. But there are always some people who don’t play by the rules.

Novavax to work with SK bioscience for coronavirus vaccine component

Novavax Inc said on Thursday South Korea’s SK bioscience will manufacture a component of the U.S. drug developer’s experimental coronavirus vaccine. In addition, the companies said they had signed a letter of intent with the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare to make the vaccine available in South Korea.

Belgian students to self-collect saliva in large COVID-19 testing experiment

Thousands of students at a Belgian university will collect weekly from September a sample of their saliva for a rapid COVID-19 test replacing more commonly used swabs – one of Europe’s largest experiments with the new testing method. The pilot scheme could be applied in other universities, schools or companies if it proves successful in faster identifying clusters of infections among students, Belgian researchers and government officials told Reuters.

Chinese cities find virus in Brazilian chicken wings, Ecuadorian shrimp packaging

Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging, local authorities said on Thursday, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause new outbreaks. A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern Xi’An city, have tested positive for the virus, local authorities said on Thursday.

Indian drugmaker Biological E. to make substance used in J&J’s potential COVID-19 vaccine

Indian drugmaker Biological E. Ltd will begin making a drug substance used in Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate that is in early to mid-stage trials, the companies said on Thursday. J&J aims to produce more than 1 billion doses of its vaccine candidate, and has struck a similar deal with U.S.-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc to boost manufacturing. Large-scale trials for the potential vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, are set to start by October.

Priest who shared stage with Modi tests positive; India sees record number of cases

India reported another record jump in its surging coronavirus cases on Thursday with nearly 67,000 new infections, among them a religious leader who shared a stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a ceremony to launch construction of a grand temple. Nritya Gopal Das, an 82-year-old Hindu priest, was the latest public figure to test positive after a string of Modi’s top cabinet colleagues were stricken with COVID-19, including interior minister Amit Shah.

Workplaces top source of virus clusters in France, says doctor

Workplaces are the main clusters of coronavirus infection in France and companies should have staff work from home as much as possible after the August holidays, one of France’s top coronavirus experts said on Thursday. Weekly health ministry data shows that since May 9, private and public companies have accounted for 22% of 609 clusters of infection. Nearly a third of these clusters are currently under investigation by health authorities.