Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
China COVID curbs exact wider business toll on Yum, EV maker Nio
Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO suspended production at its plants in the eastern city of Hefei as rising COVID-19 cases and China’s heavy-handed response to outbreaks exact a widening toll on manufacturing and the economy. The impact was also felt in the central city of Zhengzhou, where the industrial park housing a massive Apple iPhone factory announced a fresh lockdown, even as the plant’s owner, Foxconn, scrambles to placate workers frustrated with ongoing virus curbs.
China striving to control new COVID outbreaks – commission
China is striving to control the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 infections in the shortest possible time, the health commission said on Wednesday in its first comments since the 20th Communist Party Congress as cases rise across major cities.
China should unwaveringly stick to its dynamic zero-COVID policy, the National Health Commission said.
China imposes fresh lockdown around major Apple iPhone plant
China ordered an industrial park that houses an iPhone factory belonging to Foxconn to enter a seven-day lockdown on Wednesday, in a move set to intensify pressure on the Apple supplier as it scrambles to quell worker discontent at the base.
The Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in central China said it would impose “silent management” measures with immediate effect, including barring all residents from going out and only allowing approved vehicles on roads within that area.
Pfizer says maternal RSV vaccine prevents severe infection in infants
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday its experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was found effective for preventing severe infections in infants after being given in a late-stage study to expectant mothers in the second half of pregnancy. Pfizer’s shot, if approved, could be the first maternal vaccine available to relieve the burden of the disease in young infants. The company stopped the trial after the early success and plans to file for approval by the end of 2022.
WHO says monkeypox remains global health emergency
The monkeypox outbreak continues to represent a global health emergency, which is the World Health Organization’s highest level of alert, the UN agency’s Emergency Committee said on Tuesday. The WHO label, a “public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)”, is designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.
New U.S. cancer drug prices rise 53% in five years -report
The annual price of a newly-launched cancer drug in the United States averaged $283,000 last year, a 53% increase from 2017, according to a new report from U.S. Democratic Representative Katie Porter, a consumer bankruptcy law professor running for re-election in California. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, oncology treatments are nearly four times as costly as other therapies and are largely paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like the government’s Medicare plan for people over age 65, the report notes.
Analysis-Wanted: an oxygen monitor reliable for all races
Medical device makers and scientists are working on new technologies to improve widely-used devices that assess potential heart and respiratory problems given mounting evidence that current ones could lead to inadequate healthcare for patients with darker skin. Doctors have long known that pulse oximeters are less accurate in estimating blood oxygen levels in non-white patients, but the discrepancies were considered insignificant. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the real dangers of these flaws, as the devices gave falsely high oxygen readings in patients with dark skin.
Swiss drugs regulator looking into bubbles in COVID booster vials
Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Wednesday it is examining potential risks in connection with bubbles that appeared in vials of COVID-19 vaccine boosters retooled to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Swissmedic said it had been informed by vaccination centres of the appearance of bubbles during the preparation of the updated vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech targeting the original version of the coronavirus and the BA.1 Omicron variant that led to a record surge in cases last winter.
Father blames China’s COVID policy for son’s death that sparked online anger
The father of a 3-year-old boy who died on Tuesday from carbon monoxide poisoning in northwest China said strict COVID-19 policies “indirectly killed” his son by causing delays obtaining treatment, in a case that has sparked social media outrage. The boy’s death is the latest incident to trigger blowback over China’s strict zero-COVID policy, with one critical hashtag racking up 380 million reads on Wednesday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
Macau announces second round of mass COVID testing for population
Macau’s government on Wednesday announced a second round of COVID-19 PCR testing for the city’s almost 700,000 residents scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the latest measures to try and contain a rise in infections.
(With inputs from agencies.)
