Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
S.Korea prime minister calls for calm as COVID cases hit new record
South Korea’s prime minister on Wednesday called on people not to panic about a major increase in coronavirus infections as new daily cases surged past 170,000 for the first time. Serious cases and deaths are at manageable levels despite record cases caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a pandemic response meeting.
Transport for London drops mask requirement for passengers
Passengers using London’s transport network will no longer be required to wear face coverings from Feb. 24, but they will be strongly encouraged to do so, Transport for London said on Wednesday. “Wearing face coverings will no longer be a condition of carriage from 24 February but customers and staff will be strongly recommended to wear them if they are able to,” TFL said in a statement.
Sanofi, GSK to seek approval for COVID vaccine candidate
French drugmaker Sanofi and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline are seeking regulatory approval for their COVID-19 vaccine to be used as a booster, as well as a standalone two-dose shot, after several setbacks. The companies said on Wednesday they intended to submit data to regulators from a late-stage trial of the vaccine, and another testing it as a booster, with full results for both studies expected to be published “later this year.”
World should send 60 million COVID-19 vaccines to N.Korea, U.N. investigator says
The international community should form a strategy to provide North Korea with at least 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to head off humanitarian disaster, an independent U.N. human rights investigator said on Wednesday. The vaccines could be a way to persuade the country to ease lockdowns that have left some of its 26 million people on the verge of starvation, Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, told a briefing in Seoul.
COVID vaccine supply for global programme outstrips demand for first time
The global project to share COVID-19 vaccines is struggling to place more than 300 million doses in the latest sign the problem with vaccinating the world is now more about demand than supply. Last year, wealthy nations snapped most of the available shots to inoculate their own citizens first, meaning less than a third of people in low-income countries have been vaccinated so far compared with more than 70% in richer nations.
WHO plans second hub for training countries to make COVID vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to set up a second hub for training countries to produce their own mRNA vaccines as part of its project to get COVID-19 shots made in low- and middle-income countries, its chief said on Wednesday. In a speech at a vaccine conference, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not name the countries that would be involved in the expansion of the project.
Slovakia to lift most COVID restrictions over the coming month
Slovakia will lift most COVID-19 restrictions over the next month, beginning with loosening measures for the unvaccinated before cancelling crowd limits in a later phase, according to plans approved by the government on Wednesday. The first phase of the loosening will begin on Feb. 26, material on the government’s website showed. A second phase will follow on March 26 to end limits on crowds and opening hours.
Hong Kong COVID cases hit record as compulsory testing looms
Hong Kong reported a record 8,674 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, as the city prepares for compulsory testing of its residents after authorities extended the toughest social restrictions imposed since the pandemic began. Health authorities reported 24 deaths compared with Tuesday’s 32, as they step up measures, with assistance from their mainland counterparts, to contain the outbreak.
Kodiak’s eye drug falls short of Eylea in trial, shares sink
Kodiak Sciences Inc’s lead experimental eye drug failed to show similar improvement in vision in patients as Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ Eylea in a study, sending the drug developer’s shares plunging 69% before the bell on Wednesday. The mid-to-late stage trial was testing the drug in 559 patients with wet macular degeneration, a chronic eye disorder that causes blurred vision or blind spots.
Cambodia vaccinates children aged three to five against COVID
Cambodia started vaccinating children as young as three against COVID-19 on Wednesday, becoming one of the first countries to cover the age group of those below five. The Southeast Asian nation has vaccinated more than 90% of its population of 16 million, for one of the highest rates in the region, official data show. In January, it started rolling out a fourth dose for high-risk groups.
(With inputs from agencies.)
