Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Pfizer sees $10 billion-$15 billion in annual mRNA vaccine revenue by 2030
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Monday annual global revenue from its mRNA vaccine business could reach $10 billion to $15 billion by 2030. The company provided potential revenue details from vaccines across its portfolio, including its already-approved COVID-19 vaccine as well as flu and shingles shots that are currently under development, in an investor presentation.
Beijing’s U.S. envoy expects further COVID relaxation, easier travel to China
China’s ambassador to the United States on Monday said he believes China’s COVID-19 measures will be further relaxed in the near future and international travel to the country will become easier. Ambassador Qin Gang told an event staged by the Semafor news platform that China’s government was taking a very responsible attitude to protect people from the threat of COVID-19, and said his country’s policy had always been “dynamic, not rigid.”
Mexican state brings back mask mandate as COVID numbers rise
A northern Mexican state reintroduced the obligatory use of face masks in closed public spaces, officials said on Monday, in a bid to reduce rising COVID-19 infections, as well as the spread of other respiratory diseases. The health minister of Nuevo Leon state, home to Mexico’s third-biggest city Monterrey, highlighted the updated guidelines in a news conference, and said that the measure will go into effect immediately.
U.S. Supreme Court lets California ban flavored tobacco products
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for California to enforce a voter-approved ban in America’s most-populous state on flavored tobacco products, rejecting R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s bid to block it on the grounds that the policy conflicted with federal law. The justices denied the emergency request by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco, and other plaintiffs to put on hold the ban on selling all flavored tobacco products in the state – including for vaping – that was overwhelmingly endorsed through a ballot measure on Nov. 8.
WHO, ECDC urge caution against severe strep A infections in Europe
Europe should be vigilant against severe infections caused by a bacteria called group A Streptococcus in children below 10 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (ECDC) said on Monday. European countries need to raise awareness about these infections, which have been on the rise this year particularly since September, at a time of rising respiratory illnesses such as RSV and seasonal influenza, a joint statement from the agencies said.
Britain braces for winter of strike action as nurses walk out
British nurses will go on strike this week, hitting already stretched hospitals and cranking up pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to quell the biggest wave of industrial action to hit the country in decades. The walkout comes as strikes cripple the rail network and postal service, airports brace for disruption and junior doctors, midwives and teachers prepare to ballot, threatening to further jam up an economy that is likely already in recession.
Too soon to call end to COVID-19 emergency, GAVI chief says
The head of the GAVI global vaccine alliance suggested on Monday it was too early to call an end to the COVID-19 emergency, saying the pandemic could still get worse. A World Health Organization (WHO) body meets every few months to decide whether the new coronavirus, which emerged three years ago in China’s Wuhan, still represents a “public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)”. The designation is intended to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.
U.S. opioid crackdown hits some patients’ access to psychiatric drugs
A crackdown by U.S. drug wholesalers in response to the opioid crisis is preventing some pharmacists from dispensing a combination of stimulants and sedatives routinely prescribed by psychiatrists to help patients manage conditions like anxiety and ADHD. The three main U.S. pharmaceutical wholesalers – AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp – tightened monitoring of suspicious orders from pharmacies in July as part of a $21 billion nationwide opioid settlement with attorneys general from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories.
Queues form at fever clinics as China wrestles with COVID surge
People queued outside fever clinics at Chinese hospitals for COVID-19 checks on Monday, a new sign of the rapid spread of symptoms after authorities began dismantling an apparatus they used to surveil residents and curtail movement. Three years into the pandemic, China is now acting to align with a world that has largely reopened to live with COVID, after unprecedented protests that became a de-facto referendum against a “zero-COVID” policy championed by President Xi Jinping.
Nigeria scraps COVID-19 tests for international travellers
Nigeria on Monday removed COVID-19 testing requirements for international travellers and it was no longer mandatory to wear masks on flights and inside airport buildings, the airlines regulator said. In a notice to airlines, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said travellers to and from Nigeria did not need to undergo COVID-19 irrespective of their vaccination status.
(With inputs from agencies.)
