Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Sickle cell cure will be cost-effective if health disparities considered -study finds
Multimillion-dollar gene therapies being tested for sickle cell disease will be cost-effective in the United States if health disparities tied in part to decreased access to healthcare are taken into account, researchers said at a meeting of blood-disease specialists. In the United States, about one of every 365 Black babies is born with sickle cell disease – a genetic disorder in which misshapen blood cells cause strokes, organ damage, severe pain and early death – according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
‘Tough times’: Warnings sound over China’s rapid ‘zero-COVID’ exit
A week after China began dismantling its tough ‘zero-COVID’ controls, the World Health Organization warned of “very tough” times ahead and state media reported some seriously ill patients at hospitals in Beijing, raising fears of a wave of infections. China last Wednesday announced sweeping changes to testing and quarantine rules, aligning with a world that has largely reopened, after historic protests against mass lockdowns that caused mental strain for millions but kept the virus in check.
Ex-employee of pharmacy in deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak gets prison
A former employee of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose mold-tainted drugs sparked a deadly nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 was sentenced on Tuesday to five months in prison for deceiving regulators about its operations before the tragedy. Sharon Carter, New England Compounding Center’s (NECC) former director of operations, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston after a federal appeals court last year reversed his decision to throw out her trial conviction.
China to roll out second COVID vaccine booster for high-risk groups, elderly
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) will roll out the second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for high-risk groups and elderly people over 60 years old, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The time gap between the first and second booster shots will be six months, NHC said, adding people who can take the second booster shot will include those with severe existing diseases and those with low immunity.
Positive Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine data advances mRNA promise, shares rise
An experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna Inc based on the messenger RNA (MRNA) technology used in successful COVID-19 vaccines has been shown to work against melanoma, sending Moderna shares more than 20% higher and driving up of other biotechs working on similar treatments. A combination of Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine and Merck & Co’s blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda cut the risk of recurrence or death of the most deadly skin cancer by 44% compared with Keytruda alone in a mid-stage trial, the companies said on Tuesday.
China stops publishing asymptomatic COVID cases, reports no deaths
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) will as of Wednesday stop reporting new asymptomatic COVID-19 infections, as many people without symptoms no longer participate in testing, making it hard to accurately tally the total count, it said. The health authority reported 2,291 new symptomatic COVID-19 infections on Dec. 13.
U.S. to pay Pfizer nearly $2 billion for more Paxlovid courses in 2023
The U.S. government agreed to pay Pfizer Inc nearly $2 billion for an additional 3.7 million courses of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, the company said on Tuesday. The new purchase supplements the 20 million courses previously bought by the United States and delivery is planned by early 2023, Pfizer said in a statement.
As Hong Kong opens up, visitors can enter a gym or restaurant immediately
People arriving in Hong Kong by international flights can immediately visit the city’s restaurants, gyms and other venues for the first time in almost three years, with the scrapping of restrictions that barred them from such places for the first three days. The ending on Wednesday of an amber code that had been previously issued to international arrivals was announced on Tuesday by Chief Executive John Lee. Arriving people now have no movement restrictions but they need to do a PCR COVID test on arrival and again two days after arriving.
China health app starts online sales of Pfizer’s Paxlovid for COVID treatment
A Chinese healthcare platform has started selling Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid in what appears to be the first retail sale of the drug in the country, as China braces for a surge in COVID patients. The medication sold out just over half an hour after the listing was reported in the media, the platform’s customer service said, underscoring surging demand for COVID and flu medicines in China.
Cytokinetics’ heart drug fails to secure FDA panel’s support
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s panel of outside experts did not lend its support to Cytokinetics Inc’s heart drug, citing insufficient data on safety and efficacy. The panel voted 8-3 against recommending use of the drug, omecamtiv mecarbil, for treating patients with a type of heart failure caused by abnormal contractions in the main pumping chamber of the heart.
(With inputs from agencies.)
