Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
EU plans to buy measles, polio vaccines for Ukraine refugees
The European Union is planning to buy and distribute vaccines against measles, polio, tuberculosis and COVID-19 to immunize Ukrainian children and other unvaccinated Ukrainian refugees, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Tuesday. Nearly three weeks into a Russian invasion, the number of Ukrainians fleeing abroad has approached 3 million, half of them children, according to estimates from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR). They have mostly gone to EU countries, and many more are expected.
Pfizer-BioNTech seek U.S. OK for second COVID booster for 65 and older
Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE on Tuesday filed an application with U.S. regulators seeking emergency use authorization for a second booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older. The submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration includes data collected in Israel, where a second booster is authorized for many people over age 18.
Lilly, Novartis join drugmakers in scaling back operations in Russia
A growing number of drugmakers including Eli Lilly and Co, Novartis and Abbvie Inc are scaling back business in Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but still pledge to continue supplying critical medicines. U.S. drugmaker Lilly said it will send medicines for urgent medical conditions such as cancer and diabetes. It is suspending sales of what it called "non-essential medicines" as well as all investments and promotions. It also will not start any new clinical trials there.
Ecuador's Lasso seeks rule changes over limits for abortion in rape cases
Ecuador's president, Guillermo Lasso, a conservative former banker, on Tuesday said he would propose tightening time limits for abortion in cases of rape after new rules were approved by the South American country's National Assembly in February. Last month Ecuadorian politicians voted to approve rules permitting abortion for pregnancies arising from rape until 12 weeks' gestation, or up to 18 weeks for adult women belonging to indigenous groups or who live in rural areas.
Japan set to remove most COVID restrictions as new infections ebb
Japan is set to announce on Wednesday the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions imposed on Tokyo and other prefectures as a wave of infections caused by the Omicron variant continues to ebb. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. GMT, when he is expected to announce the lifting of curbs on March 21, along with a further easing of border measures, local media reported.
S.Korea reports record 400,741 new daily COVID cases - KDCA
South Korea reported a record 400,741 new daily COVID-19 cases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to further ease social distancing rules despite a wave of Omicron infections.
U.S. will run out of key COVID treatments without more funds, White House says
The U.S. government will run out of supplies of COVID-19 treatments known as monoclonal antibodies as soon as late May and will have to scale back plans to get more unless Congress provides more funding, the White House said on Tuesday. Raising the alarm about depleted funding for the U.S. pandemic response, the White House said the government also would not have enough money to provide additional COVID-19 booster shots or variant-specific vaccines without a new injection of cash.
Hong Kong leader Lam says no plans to further tighten COVID rules
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that there were no plans to further tighten COVID-19 rules in the global financial hubs, with measures in place already the strictest since the pandemic started in 2020.
China registers over 1,000 new daily COVID cases for fourth day
China reported 1,860 new local symptomatic COVID-19 cases on March. 15, posting over a thousand for a fourth consecutive day, with most new infections still concentrated in the northeast, official data showed on Wednesday. Cases fell by nearly half compared to a total of 3,507 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms a day earlier. The numbers remain fewer than those in many outbreaks outside the country, as authorities across China continued to implement emergency measures to contain new outbreaks.
U.S., EU, India, S.Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text
The United States, European Union, India and South Africa have reached a consensus on key elements of a long-sought intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a proposed text reviewed by Reuters. Sources familiar with the talks described the text as a tentative agreement among the four World Trade Organization members that still needs formal approvals from the parties before it can be considered official. Any agreement must be accepted by the WTO's 164 member countries in order to be adopted.
