ONE-MINUTE READS ... News from around the world

BELGIUM

Time to eat worms!

Dried yellow mealworms could soon be hitting supermarket shelves and restaurants across Europe. The European Union's 27 nations gave the green light Tuesday to a proposal to put the Tenebrio molitor beetle's larvae on the market as a "novel food".

The move came after the EU's food safety agency published a scientific opinion this year that concluded worms were safe to eat. Researchers said the worms, either eaten whole or in powdered form, are a protein-rich snack or an ingredient for other foods.

Allergic reactions may occur for people with pre-existing allergies to crustaceans and dust mites, the commission said.

Insects as food represent a very small market but EU officials said breeding them for food could have environmental benefits. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization calls insects "a healthy and highly nutritious food source with a high content of fat, protein, vitamins, fibres and minerals".

Following Tuesday's approval by EU states, a EU regulation authorising dried yellow mealworms as a food will be adopted in the coming weeks.

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USA

FDA expected to OK Pfizer vaccine for teens

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to authorise Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week, according to a federal official and a person familiar with the process, setting up shots for many before the beginning of the next school year.

The announcement is set to come a month after the company found that its shot, which is already authorised for those age 16 and older, also provided protection for the younger group.

The federal official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the FDA's action, said the agency was expected to expand its emergency use authorisation for Pfizer's two-dose vaccine by early next week, and perhaps even sooner.

COVID blamed for increased deaths from drug overdose

Health officials say Minnesota saw a 27 per cent increase in drug overdose deaths last year, with the first largest increase coinciding with the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, 1,008 people died of drug overdoses in 2020. Drug-related deaths increased 64 per cent in March 2020 compared with the previous year, then peaked at more than 100 fatalities in the months of May and August.

Outreach resources became limited due to the pandemic.

"With COVID there's this terrible storm about lack of access to treatment medications, housing and treatment facilities," said Dr Ryan Kelly, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Kelly said people died because of limited access to treatment, the Star Tribune reported.

"COVID has led to a huge increase for a lot of reasons," said Marissa Bonnie, who does outreach for Southside Harm Reduction Services in Minneapolis. "A lot of people have isolated way more, which can lead to people using alone or having limited resources."

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MEXICO

At least 20 dead as overpass collapses on to road

An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent a subway car plunging towards a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring about 70, city officials said.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said 49 of the injured were hospitalised, and that seven were in serious condition and undergoing surgery.

Sheinbaum said a motorist had been pulled alive from a car that was trapped on the roadway below. Dozens of rescuers continued searching through wreckage from the collapsed, preformed concrete structure.

"There are unfortunately children among the dead," Sheinbaum said, without specifying how many.

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