Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Thailand reports record 23,557 new coronavirus cases
Thailand reported on Thursday a record daily increase of 23,557 new coronavirus infections, as the country deals with an outbreak driven by the Omicron variant. The Southeast Asian country also reported 38 new deaths, according to the country’s COVID-19 centre.
Japan to accept J&J COVID vaccine for border entry next month
Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The J&J shot, which has not been approved in Japan, will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for non-residents to enter, after a nearly two-year ban on such travellers.
COVID surges in New Zealand, protesters against mandates chase away Ardern
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was rushed out of a school event in Christchurch on Thursday after protesters opposed to COVID restrictive measures thronged the venue and chased her car, while daily infection numbers hit record levels.
New Zealand reported over 6,000 new cases of COVID-19, with 250 hospitalisations, and the government expects the outbreak to peak in mid-March.
Analysis-China steps in to steer Hong Kong’s COVID crisis as risks loom
As COVID-19 rages across Hong Kong at the start of a sensitive political year for China and President Xi Jinping, Beijing is determined not to be embarrassed and undermined as it was by the often-violent protests that rocked the city in 2019. In the past week, since Xi told the city its “overriding mission” was to control the worsening crisis, Hong Kong has stepped up anti-COVID measures, including plans for mass testing buttressed by equipment, testing vehicles and personnel from the mainland.
WHO announces 2nd hub for training countries to make COVID vaccines
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it has set up a hub in South Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and therapies, and is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine project to a further five nations. The new training hub comes after the U.N. agency set up a technology transfer hub in Cape Town, South Africa, last year to give companies from poor and middle-income countries the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines based on mRNA technology.
Omicron BA.2 sub-variant more infectious but no more severe – Africa CDC
The Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 appears to be more infectious than the original BA.1 sub-variant, but does not cause more severe disease, the head of Africa’s top public health body said on Thursday citing data from South Africa. “South Africa is reporting that it is more transmissible than the BA.1 variant, but interestingly and very encouragingly the severity seems to be the same,” said Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
U.S. FDA limits use of GlaxoSmithKline-Vir COVID-19 drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotech’s COVID-19 antibody treatment should not be used in places with circulation of variants that are not susceptible to the drug. Vir has said the drug, sotrovimab, retains neutralizing activity against the emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
COVID-19 shot interval can be extended to 8 weeks for some -U.S. CDC
Extending the interval between the first two doses of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in the country to eight weeks for young men can reduce the rare risk of heart inflammation, U.S. health officials said. The side effect, which has been linked to both Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, is higher in 12- to 39-year-old men, and therefore the eight-week interval could be optimal for some people aged 12 years and older, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
COVID raises risk of mental health problems; new Omicron version not making people sicker in S. Africa
The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Coronavirus infection raises risk of mental health issues
Explainer-How the World Health Organization might face future pandemics
Negotiations on new rules for dealing with pandemics will begin at the World Health Organization on Thursday, with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty to be adopted by the U.N. health agency’s 194 member countries. A new pact is among more than 200 recommendations for shoring up the world’s defences against new pathogens made by various reviewers following the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.2 million people in two years.
(With inputs from agencies.)
