Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Canadian province’s healthcare fix raises fears of new strain on public system
Ontario’s plan to rely more on private operators for public health services has some doctors and patient advocates worried it could put patients at risk of exploitation and steal workers away from a public system facing a staffing shortage. Canada’s most populous province on Monday announced a major expansion of private providers for publicly covered procedures such as cataract surgeries, joint replacements and medical imaging. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the move was needed to address an unsustainable status quo of long wait times.
Merck set to remove cancer-causing chemical from top diabetes drugs – Bloomberg News
Merck & Co has discovered how its blockbuster diabetes drugs have become contaminated with a potential carcinogen and believes it can resolve the problem by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The company submitted a report to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulators after identifying the root cause for the presence of a nitrosamine called NTTP in certain batches of the drugs, according to the report, which cited a person familiar with the situation.
In Yemen, medical shortages compound suffering of cancer patients
Ali Jabri cradles his sobbing son Ayoub ahead of chemotherapy treatment at Yemen’s largest cancer hospital in the capital Sanaa where an eight-year war has led to shortages in life-saving medicine and equipment. The 12-year-old is one of 81,000 patients registered with the National Oncology Center (NOC) from across Yemen seeking free treatment, which has increasingly been limited by shrinking funds and restrictions on flow of goods in the import-reliant country.
‘Not right’ for us to be key global health funder -Gates CEO
It is not right for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to play such a big role in global health funding, but the group will not back away until others step up, its chief executive said. The Gates Foundation has faced criticism that it has too much power and influence in the global health realm, including within the World Health Organization, without the requisite accountability.
EU plans changes to pharmaceuticals law to avoid medicine shortages
Proposed changes to a European Union pharmaceuticals law will include stronger obligations for the supply of medicines and earlier notifications of shortages, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Tuesday. Kyriakides told a session of the European Parliament that shortages of antibiotics are a growing problem for many European countries. She said the European Commission’s proposal to revise the pharmaceuticals legislation is planned for March.
China’s Lunar New Year travel to boost economy after COVID crunch
Urban workers crowded train stations across China’s largest cities on Tuesday as travel for Lunar New Year holidays hit high gear, an early sign of economic recovery as officials confirmed a plunge due to COVID-19 curbs. The world’s second-largest economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, data showed on Tuesday, dragging 2022 growth down to one its worst performances in nearly half a century after three years of COVID restrictions and lockdowns.
U.S. asks court to reverse order banning airplane mask mandate to combat COVID
The Justice Department on Tuesday asked an appeals court panel to reverse an April 2021 ruling that declared unlawful a government order requiring masks on airplanes, buses, trains, ridesharing services and at airports and other transportation hubs. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the government’s appeal of a ruling by a U.S. district court judge in Florida that found the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lacked legal authority to issue a nationwide travel mask mandate to combat COVID-19.
Pfizer to sell all its drugs in low-income countries at non-profit price
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will offer its full portfolio of drugs, including off-patent medicines such as chemotherapies and oral cancer treatments, on a not-for-profit basis to 45 low-income countries in the world. In an expansion of the company’s “An Accord for a Healthier World” program, which is aimed at increasing access to innovative treatments in some of the world’s poorest countries, Pfizer said it will now offer a total of 500 products.
In China, doctors say they are discouraged from citing COVID on death certificates
During a busy shift at the height of Beijing’s COVID wave, a physician at a private hospital saw a printed notice in the emergency department: doctors should “try not to” write COVID-induced respiratory failure on death certificates. Instead, if the deceased had an underlying disease, that should be named as the main cause of death, according to the notice, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Reversing abortion drug’s approval would harm public interest, U.S. FDA says
President Joe Biden’s administration is urging a judge to reject a request by abortion opponents for a court order withdrawing federal approval for the drug used in medication abortions – which account for more than half of U.S. abortions – citing potential dangers to women seeking to end their pregnancies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s filing to U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, made available online on Tuesday, came in a lawsuit in Texas by anti-abortion groups challenging the agency’s approval of the drug mifepristone in 2000 for medication abortion.
(With inputs from agencies.)
