Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Indian state suspends license of cough syrup maker linked to Uzbekistan deaths – Moneycontrol
India’s Uttar Pradesh state has suspended the production license of Marion Biotech, whose cough syrup has been linked to the death of 19 children in Uzbekistan, Moneycontrol website reported on Tuesday. Marion Biotech did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
China retaliates against S.Korea’s COVID curbs, says outbreaks past peaks
Beijing retaliated on Tuesday against South Korea’s COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China, while state media further downplayed the severity of the outbreak in the last major economy to reopen its borders after three years of isolation. China ditched mandatory quarantines for arrivals and allowed travel to resume across its border with Hong Kong on Sunday, removing the last major restrictions under the “zero-COVID” regime which it abruptly began dismantling in early December after historic protests against the curbs.
South Africa not tightening COVID rules over China, subvariant
South Africa does not see the need to implement any new COVID-19 restrictions either at home or for arrivals over an infection surge in China and the detection of the first case of Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 locally, its health minister said. “The dominant variant of concern in China and in the world remains Omicron, and the immunity of South Africans from vaccination and natural immunity is still very strong,” Minister Joe Phaahla told reporters on Tuesday.
Omicron COVID booster cuts hospitalization in over 65s, Israeli study finds
The Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine booster developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE sharply reduced hospitalizations among older patients, Israeli researchers said on Monday, in some of the first evidence of the jab’s real-world effectiveness. The study by researchers from healthcare provider Clalit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapir College has not yet been peer reviewed.
WHO meeting to decide on COVID emergency set for Jan. 27
A World Health Organization committee will meet on Jan. 27 to consider whether the COVID-19 pandemic still represents a global emergency, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, three years after it was first declared. WHO spokesperson Carla Drysdale confirmed the timing of the meeting at a Geneva press briefing. The Emergency Committee advises WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who makes the ultimate call on whether an outbreak represents a so-called Public Health Emergency of International Concern which is the U.N. agency’s highest level of alert.
Pfizer CEO rules out generic COVID drug Paxlovid for China
Pfizer Inc is not in talks with Chinese authorities to license a generic version of its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid for use there, but is in discussions about a price for the branded product, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday. Reuters reported on Friday that China was in talks with Pfizer to secure a licence that will allow domestic drugmakers to manufacture and distribute a generic version of the U.S. firm’s COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid in China.
WHO backs mask wearing on long flights as new Omicron variant spreads
Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 given its rapid spread in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant is being detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said at a press briefing.
Japan to cull record 10 million chickens to stop the spread of bird flu
Japan plans to cull more than 10 million chickens because of the spread of bird flu, a record for the peak infection season that runs from October to May, an agriculture ministry official said on Tuesday. With the latest avian flu case detected at a poultry farm in Miyazaki in southwestern Japan on Tuesday, the total number of chickens to be culled in the 2022 season reached 10.08 million, exceeding the 9.87 million in the November 2020 to March 2021 season.
In rural eastern China, not testing for COVID becomes the norm
Weng Shuiye laid back in her chair, sighing with relief as oxygen flowed from a tank into her nostrils. Breathing problems, body aches and lethargy had prompted her to visit a hospital in her home village in Tonglu county in eastern China’s Zhejiang province’ for treatment.
Germany’s BioNTech to acquire British AI startup InstaDeep
Biontech SE said on Tuesday it would buy the rest of British artificial intelligence startup InstaDeep that it does not already own for an upfront payment of roughly 362 million euros ($388 million) to bolster its drug development. The German vaccine maker intends to use AI tech to speed up drug discovery and development of next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines.
(With inputs from agencies.)
