Health News Roundup: Parts of China's Hainan extend COVID lockdown, Lhasa in Tibet tightens curbs; Abbott to add 1,000 jobs in $450 million Irish investment and more

"As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio," it said, adding that cornstarch-based baby powder is already sold in countries around the world. Long COVID risk up for unvaccinated children; at-home antibody test shows promise The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Parts of China's Hainan extend COVID lockdown, Lhasa in Tibet tightens curbs

A few cities in China's tourism hub Hainan extended lockdowns on Friday, with some of the measures expected to last through the weekend, while Lhasa in Tibet also tightened restrictions, among the latest curbs to contain COVID clusters in the country. Under the "dynamic COVID zero" policy that aims at quickly stopping each outbreak from spreading, local governments have imposed shorter lockdowns where people were barred from unnecessary movements for a few days or weeks until clusters were contained within narrower areas.

Abbott to add 1,000 jobs in $450 million Irish investment

U.S. healthcare company Abbott Laboratories plans to hire 1,000 more people in Ireland in one of the biggest job announcements this year in the country's booming multinational sector, state investment agency IDA Ireland said on Friday. Abbott, which is one of the largest multinational employers in Ireland with 5,000 staff, will expand its manufacturing facilities in the north west county of Donegal and build a new plant at the other end of the country in Kilkenny.

Novartis reports Zolgensma caused two deaths from liver failure

Novartis AG on Thursday reported two patient fatalities due to acute liver failure following treatment with Zolgensma gene therapy used to treat spinal muscular atrophy. The company has notified health authorities in markets where the drug is sold, including the FDA, and has informed relevant healthcare professionals as an additional step.

In Caracas, equine therapy offers hope for disabled kids from low-income families

Claireth Mendoza's six-year-old son Drake squirms in his mother's lap. She asks him to raise his head and the boy straightens up. Drake suffers from cerebral palsy, and until recently struggled to do something as simple as looking up at his mother.

Roche gets U.S. approval for flu drug for children aged 5 and over

Roche has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration for its Xofluza drug to treat influenza in children aged five years and older, the drugmaker said on Friday. The medicine has been approved to treat acute uncomplicated influenza in otherwise healthy children who have shown symptoms for no more than 48 hours.

Drugmakers' shares stabilise after Zantac litigation slump

Shares in GSK, Sanofi, Haleon and Pfizer began to recover on Friday after the companies said that nothing material had changed regarding U.S. litigation focused on heartburn drug Zantac. The companies' share prices had fallen sharply this week on investor concern about the litigation over potential cancer-causing impurities that prompted the drug's withdrawal from markets in 2019 and 2020.

Analysis: U.S. move to negotiate drug prices a rare defeat for Big Pharma

Big Pharma spent more than any other industry to lobby Congress and federal agencies this year, a Reuters analysis shows, but is still on course for a major defeat by failing to stop a bill that allows the government to negotiate prices on select drugs. Despite the pharmaceutical industry spending at least $142 million on lobbying efforts, the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act to change climate, health, and tax policies cleared its largest hurdle last week when Democratic lawmakers passed it in the Senate.

J&J to end global sales of talc-based baby powder

Johnson & Johnson will stop selling talc-based baby powder globally in 2023, the drugmaker said on Thursday, more than two years after it ended U.S. sales of a product that drew thousands of consumer safety lawsuits. "As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio," it said, adding that cornstarch-based baby powder is already sold in countries around the world.

Long COVID risk up for unvaccinated children; at-home antibody test shows promise

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. Unvaccinated children have a higher long COVID risk

U.S. CDC no longer recommends students quarantine for COVID-19 exposure

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend quarantines or test-to-stay programs at schools or daycare centers for people exposed to COVID-19, the agency said in updated guidelines on Thursday. The agency also said it was no longer recommending unvaccinated people quarantine after exposure as around 95% of the U.S. population has either been vaccinated, had COVID-19 already, or both.

(With inputs from agencies.)