Health News Roundup: Beijing city raises vigilance as local COVID cases tick higher before Olympics; Dozens of firms to make cheap version of Merck COVID pill for poorer nations and more

State employees and Guard members who take up the call to teach will get their usual pay and be considered on administrative leave or active duty, respectively, according to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Taiwan to mandate COVID vaccination proof for entertainment venues Taiwan will mandate the use of passes that provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into entertainment venues, the government said on Thursday, as it seeks to reduce infection risks while tackling a small rise in domestic Omicron cases.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Beijing city raises vigilance as local COVID cases tick higher before Olympics

China's capital Beijing ramped up efforts to curb COVID-19 infections, ordering checks among cold-chain firms and urging residents to cut unnecessary gatherings, as the city reported an uptick in local cases weeks before the Winter Olympics. Beijing had three domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms on Wednesday, including one previously reported as a local asymptomatic carrier for Jan. 18, according to local health authority data on Thursday.

Dozens of firms to make cheap version of Merck COVID pill for poorer nations

A U.N.-backed agency has struck a deal for nearly 30 generic drugmakers to make low-cost versions of Merck & Co's COVID-19 pill molnupiravir for poorer nations, widening access to a drug seen as a weapon in fighting the pandemic. The antiviral pill, which in December received emergency approval in the United States, reduces hospitalisations and deaths of high-risk patients by around 30%, according to clinical trial results.

New Mexico asks National Guard to teach as COVID shuts schools

New Mexico on Wednesday asked National Guard members and state employees to volunteer as substitute teachers to keep schools and daycare centers open during a surge in COVID-19 infections. State employees and Guard members who take up the call to teach will get their usual pay and be considered on administrative leave or active duty, respectively, according to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Taiwan to mandate COVID vaccination proof for entertainment venues

Taiwan will mandate the use of passes that provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into entertainment venues, the government said on Thursday, as it seeks to reduce infection risks while tackling a small rise in domestic Omicron cases. The Central Epidemic Command Centre said that from Friday entry into venues including bars and night clubs would require proof of full vaccination, either by showing a physical vaccine card or a new digital card.

Vaccine group GAVI says additional $5.2 billion needed to ensure supply

The chairman of the GAVI vaccine alliance, Jose Manuel Barroso, said on Wednesday that an additional $5.2 billion is needed to continue to deliver vaccines at scale. Speaking at a news briefing, Barroso said it was critical to continue to keep up the pace of vaccine supply through the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme, as more than 3 billion people in the world are yet to receive their first dose.

Britain must learn to live with COVID-19, it could be with us forever - Javid

Britain must learn to live with COVID-19 as it may be with us forever, health minister Sajid Javid said on Thursday, adding that Britain was moving ahead of other countries as the government lifted coronavirus measures. "We need to learn to live with it. Sadly people die of flu as well: in a bad flu year you can sadly lose about 20,000 lives, but we don't shut down our entire country," Javid told Sky News.

Analysis-How Omicron highlights fading hope of herd immunity from COVID

The Omicron variant, which is spreading far faster than previous versions of the coronavirus, is not likely to help countries achieve so-called herd immunity against COVID-19, in which enough people become immune to the virus that it can no longer spread, leading disease experts say. From the earliest days of the pandemic, public health officials have expressed hope that it was possible to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, as long as a high enough percentage of the population was vaccinated or infected with the virus.

France to unveil timetable for easing COVID restrictions

France will unveil a timetable for easing COVID-19 restrictions later on Thursday, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said, though he cautioned the wave of Omicron infections tearing through the country had not reached its peak. Attal said France's new vaccine pass rules would help allow a softening of rules even as the incidence rate of infections continues to increase.

Lebanon's healthcare on brink of collapse amid crisis, says minister

Lebanon's healthcare system is crumbling amid an economic crisis that has led to an exodus of thousands of doctors and nurses, forced private hospitals to close some departments and put further strains on the already stretched state sector. "If this crisis goes on for long without solutions we will of course come closer to a great collapse," Health Minister Firass Abiad told Reuters this week.

Moscow's COVID-19 cases surge to pandemic high

The Russian capital on Thursday reported a record pandemic high of 11,557 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours and the daily nationwide number of new infections also rose sharply to 38,850, authorities said. Moscow city mayor Sergei Sobyanin met President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in footage aired on state television and presented a report on the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)