Health News Roundup: China's Henan adds COVID curbs as cases rise, Xian official apologises; Omicron spreads in India's big cities but hospitalisations still low and more

Total hospitalisations on Wednesday stood at 363 patients, after the Health Ministry reported more than 16,000 new cases - a record high in Israel since the start of the pandemic - with a daily increase of 34 people falling severely ill. Gavi and India's Bharat discuss possible COVAX use of Covaxin The Gavi vaccine alliance is in talks with India's Bharat Biotech over potential procurement of the company's Covaxin COVID-19 shot for the COVAX global vaccine distribution programme, a Gavi spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China's Henan adds COVID curbs as cases rise, Xian official apologises

More cities in central China's Henan province imposed COVID restrictions as infections there rose sharply, while authorities in the northwestern city of Xian apologised on Thursday to a woman whose miscarriage during lockdown stirred public outrage. Henan reported 64 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Wednesday, up from just four a day earlier, official data showed on Thursday.

Omicron spreads in India's big cities but hospitalisations still low

Indian megacities Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, although without a corresponding rise in hospitalisations, but fears are growing about a spread to rural areas in coming days. India reported 90,928 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up nearly four-fold since the start of the year, mostly from cities where health officials say the Omicron variant has overtaken Delta. The bulk of those infected have shown no or only mild symptoms and have recovered quickly at home, officials said.

Frustrated German towns urge leaders to plan for fourth COVID dose

German towns have appealed to authorities for less "flying by the seat of your pants" and more "forward-thinking planning," as the country looks likely to miss its vaccination target for January. Local leaders have described the vaccine rollout as chaotic, complaining of a lack of communication about when and how much vaccine they would receive, which made it difficult to plan.

CDC recommends Pfizer's COVID-19 booster for ages 12 to 15

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it expanded the eligibility of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's booster doses to those 12 to 15 years old.

The move came after a panel of outside experts advising the CDC voted earlier to recommend booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine be made available for ages 12 to 15.

Malaysia approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11

Malaysia has granted conditional approval for the use of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged between 5 and 11 years old, the health ministry said on Thursday. The country's drugs regulator has also cleared a vaccine made by Chinese firm CanSino Biologics to be used as a booster shot for adults over the age of 18, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a statement.

Infections at record high, hospitalisations low as Omicron sweeps Israel

Data from Israel on Thursday supported growing evidence worldwide that Omicron causes milder illness than previous variants of the coronavirus, even as the country grappled with a record number of daily infections. Total hospitalisations on Wednesday stood at 363 patients, after the Health Ministry reported more than 16,000 new cases - a record high in Israel since the start of the pandemic - with a daily increase of 34 people falling severely ill.

Gavi and India's Bharat discuss possible COVAX use of Covaxin

The Gavi vaccine alliance is in talks with India's Bharat Biotech over potential procurement of the company's Covaxin COVID-19 shot for the COVAX global vaccine distribution programme, a Gavi spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday. "We are in discussion with (Bharat Biotech) as we consider the overall needs of the COVAX portfolio in 2022. However, we have no agreement for supply of Covaxin to COVAX at this time," the spokesperson said in an email.

Mexico nears 300,000 deaths from COVID-19 as cases surge after holidays

Mexico is likely to surpass 300,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week - the fifth highest death toll worldwide - as infections rise after the holiday season, fueled by the Omicron coronavirus variant and largely unrestricted tourism. Infections have more than doubled to 20,000 during the last week when many U.S. tourists visited Mexico. Eleven of Mexico's 32 states decided not to resume in-person school classes this week with cases climbing fast.

U.S. tightens COVID-19 infection controls at bases in Japan as cases surge

U.S. military bases in Japan introduced stricter COVID-19 measures on Thursday after the host government expressed grave concern about a surge of new infections and called for restrictions on the movement of U.S. personnel. Three prefectures that host U.S. bases have requested quasi-emergency measures as Japan faces what some are calling a sixth wave of coronavirus infections, with cases in some places at their highest in months. One official has blamed U.S. military personnel for spreading the Omicron variant.

Ukraine offers booster COVID-19 shots to all adults

Ukraine is now offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults as the Omicron variant is spreading and is likely to lead to a spike in coronavirus infections next month, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on Thursday. Following several periods of strict restrictions, the average daily number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine fell in early January to about 4,000 from above 10,000 in early December.