Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Africa lags on COVID-19 vaccination, healthcare workers at risk – WHO, nurses say
Only 15 of Africa’s 54 nations have fully vaccinated 10% of their populations against COVID-19 and many frontline health workers remain at risk, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Council of Nurses (ICN) said on Thursday. They called for speeding up distribution of doses to those at risk on the continent amid what the WHO called “opaque delivery plans” and “bottlenecks” in the rollout of vaccines in Africa.
Somalia opens first public oxygen plant to help treat COVID-19 amid severe shortage
Somalia’s first public oxygen plant opened on Thursday, in a ray of hope for a country where a lifesaving treatment for the coronavirus has been largely unavailable to patients during the pandemic. Global demand for medical oxygen has surged with the COVID-19 pandemic, and many countries have experienced desperate shortages.
United Airlines cuts number of workers facing termination over vaccine noncompliance
United Airlines on Thursday trimmed the number of employees who are facing termination for defying the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Chicago-based carrier said only 320 U.S.-based staff are now not in compliance with its COVID-19 vaccination policy, marking a 46% drop in the past two days.
Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
Russians may soon be able to receive vaccines not registered in the country from clinics set up in a special economic zone, Russian Kommersant daily reported. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
U.S. House panel approves fourth bill aimed at drug prices
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to approve a fourth bill aimed at tackling high drug prices, approving a measure that would make it easier for biosimilar drugs, cheaper versions of expensive biotech drugs, to come to market. The same panel voted Wednesday to send three related bills to the House floor for consideration.
California judge questions counties’ opioid case against drugmakers at trial’s end
A California judge on Thursday said several large counties accusing four drugmakers of fueling an opioid epidemic had presented a “dearth of evidence” during a multi-billion dollar trial to support finding the companies’ pain pill marketing caused the health crisis. Judge Peter Wilson sharply questioned the counties’ lawyer during closing arguments about what evidence would support finding Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo International PLC and AbbVie Inc’s Allergan unit liable for the epidemic.
Merck KGaA, GSK end partnership on former cancer drug hopeful
Germany’s Merck KGaA and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday ended their collaboration on cancer treatment bintrafusp alfa, once seen as one of Merck’s most promising experimental drugs. Merck said the move was a mutual decision, mostly due to disappointing lung cancer trial data, adding that no milestone payments were made by GSK and no future milestone obligations remain.
Syrians face common enemy across frontlines: surging COVID-19
In both the Syrian capital Damascus and parts of the country that have rebelled against its rule during a decade of war, people are facing the same enemy: COVID-19. Intensive care beds have filled up at hospitals across the fractured nation this month because of a COVID-19 surge, piling pressure on health systems shattered by conflict and amid slow vaccination campaigns.
More than 2 million U.S. school kids report using e-cigarettes this year – CDC study
An estimated 2.06 million U.S. middle and high school students are using electronic cigarettes with Puff Bar, Vuse and Juul among the most popular products, according to data from a 2021 survey analyzed by health officials. The data, published on Thursday in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, showed the use of the potentially addictive nicotine devices may have declined from 3.6 million students in 2020.
Texas abortion clinics struggle to survive under restrictive law
Since Texas enacted the strictest anti-abortion law in the country a month ago, the four Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinics across the state have seen patient visits plummet, some staff quit and recruitment efforts falter. The new law, which bans abortions after about six weeks and empowers private citizens to enforce it, has the clinics “teeter-tottering between financial risk, legal risk and staffing risk,” said Marva Sadler, the facilities’ director of clinical services.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
