Health News Roundup: Austria says it is putting its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on ice; Canada's Ontario to drop COVID curbs, including mask mandate and more

Doctors in Germany are allowed to say they offer termination of pregnancies but are not allowed to provide any further information on such procedures. Canada's Ontario to drop COVID curbs, including mask mandate Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Wednesday it would end masking requirements for most indoor spaces later this month, and scrap virtually all COVID-19-related public health measures by end-April, citing the reduced threat of the pandemic.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Purdue seeks approval of $6 billion opioid settlement over state and DOJ objections

Purdue Pharma on Wednesday is urging a bankruptcy judge to approve a $6 billion opioid settlement funded by its Sackler family owners, over objections from 20 states and the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog. Purdue, which makes the addictive painkiller OxyContin, has been sued thousands of times over the drug's central role in the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Variant that combines Delta and Omicron identified; dogs sniff out virus with high accuracy

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. "Deltacron" with genes of Delta and Omicron found

U.S. man with transplanted genetically modified pig heart dies, hospital says

(Reuters) - A 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease who made history as the first person to receive a genetically modified pig's heart died on Tuesday afternoon at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the hospital said. David Bennett received the transplant on Jan 7.

Austria says it is putting its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on ice

Austria is suspending its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, its ministers for health and constitutional affairs said on Wednesday, six days before fines for breaches were due to start being imposed. The measure, the most sweeping in the European Union as it applied to all adults with few exceptions, has been in effect since Feb. 5, but enforcement was only due to begin on March 15.

COVID cases, deaths falling in Americas, but too soon to lower guard -PAHO

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Wednesday said COVID-19 cases fell by 26% across the Americas last week while deaths from the virus dropped by nearly 19%, but cautioned that some effective measures to curb infections should be maintained. The region recorded 1.1 million new infections during the period with 18,000 COVID-related deaths.

German cabinet approves scrapping of Nazi-era abortion law

Germany's cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that will do away with a Nazi-era law forbidding doctors from providing information about abortions. Doctors in Germany are allowed to say they offer termination of pregnancies but are not allowed to provide any further information on such procedures.

Canada's Ontario to drop COVID curbs, including mask mandate

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Wednesday it would end masking requirements for most indoor spaces later this month, and scrap virtually all COVID-19-related public health measures by end-April, citing the reduced threat of the pandemic. The province also said it would end strict inoculation rules on hospitals, colleges and universities next week. The broad mask mandate ends on March 21, though masks will still be required in healthcare settings and on public transit until April 27.

Hong Kong races to build isolation facilities as COVID cases surge

Hong Kong is rushing to build facilities for COVID-19 patients, with Reuters drone footage showing construction work in full swing after a temporary bridge linking the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to the Asian financial hub opened at the weekend. As a surge in COVID-19 cases overwhelms Hong Kong's healthcare facilities, authorities have deployed mainland medical and construction workers, as well as building materials, to speed up efforts to contain an outbreak of the virus.

Shanghai steps up defences against wave of asymptomatic COVID cases

The Chinese financial hub of Shanghai is moving quickly to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a rising wave of local symptomless cases, testing tens of thousands of people, delaying dozens of concerts and exhibitions and shutting some public venues. Shanghai reported 62 domestically transmitted asymptomatic infections for Tuesday, the seventh consecutive day of increases in such cases, official data showed on Wednesday. That was the highest daily count for the city since China started in late March 2020 to classify symptomless infections separately from confirmed cases.

Pfizer begins COVID pill study in high-risk children aged 6-17

Pfizer said on Wednesday it has begun a mid-to-late-stage study of its antiviral COVID-19 pill for non-hospitalized children aged 6-17 years who are at high risk of developing severe illness. Pfizer's Paxlovid pill is authorized for emergency use in the United States for kids 12 years or older and high-risk adults. But there are no oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 authorized in the United States for younger children.