Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
U.S. FDA, CDC see early signal of possible Pfizer bivalent COVID shot link to stroke
A safety monitoring system flagged that U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech’s updated COVID-19 shot could be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data analyzed by U.S. health authorities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that a CDC vaccine database had uncovered a possible safety issue in which people 65 and older were more likely to have an ischemic stroke 21 days after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent shot, compared with days 22-44.
China reports 59,938 COVID-related hospital deaths since Dec. 8
China said nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy in early December, a big increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country’s coronavirus data. Between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, the number of COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, with an average age of 80.3 among the deceased, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing on Saturday.
China, Hong Kong resume high-speed rail link after 3 years of COVID curbs
China resumed on Sunday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier. The re-opening comes amidst a massive wave of infections nationwide and a day after authorities said nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital, following last month’s abrupt U-turn on “zero-COVID” policy in the wake of historic protests.
WHO says its chief spoke with Chinese officials, welcomes COVID-19 data
The World Health Organization’s head has spoken with Chinese authorities and the agency welcomed new information about the situation in the country, WHO said on Saturday after Beijing released new data showing a big jump in COVID-19-related deaths. Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the wave of infections which erupted after the country abruptly dismantled its anti-virus regime last month.
China’s COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations have peaked -health official
COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations have peaked in China and the number of hospitalised COVID patients is continuing to decline, a Chinese health official said on Saturday. Nationwide, “the number of fever clinic visitors is generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas,” Jiao Yahui, an official from the National Health Commission, told a news conference.
(With inputs from agencies.)
