Health News Roundup: Fauci does not expect major surge in COVID cases in U.S.; Novavax says its COVID vaccine gets India authorisation for teens and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Fauci does not expect major surge in COVID cases in U.S.

Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday he would not be surprised to see an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States, but he does not expect a major surge. "I would not be surprised at all, if we do see somewhat of an uptick," Fauci told a Washington Post event. "I don't really see, unless something changes dramatically, that there would be a major surge."

U.S. travel industry urges White House to lift COVID restrictions, mask mandate

The U.S. Travel Association on Tuesday urged the White House to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions and repeal a mandate requiring masks on airplanes and in other transit modes by April 18, according to a letter seen by Reuters. In a letter to Dr. Ashish Jha, the incoming White House COVID response coordinator, the group called for an immediate end to the pre-departure testing requirement for all fully vaccinated inbound international persons and ending the mask mandate by April 18 "or announcing a plan and timeline to repeal the federal mask mandate within the subsequent 90 days."

Novavax says its COVID vaccine gets India authorisation for teens

Novavax Inc said on Tuesday the Drugs Controller General of India has granted emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in the country.

Mexico sticking to plan to package Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Mexico is sticking to its plan to package domestically the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V because health matters are separate from political conflicts, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday. In October, state-run vaccine company Birmex signed an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets Sputnik V, to package the product in Mexico.

U.S. Senate to vote this spring on lowering insulin prices - Senator Schumer

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday he intends to hold votes this spring on a bill that would cap the cost of insulin, a life-sustaining diabetes drug.

The legislation would place a $35 monthly cap on what patients pay for insulin, Schumer said, and would be paired with another emerging bipartisan plan to drive down the price "in a more comprehensive way, including having the uninsured protected," Schumer told reporters.

France sees biggest jump in COVID cases since early February

France saw the biggest jump in new COVID-19 cases since February, health ministry data showed on Tuesday, with 180,777 new infections over 24 hours, and hospital numbers also rose for the third consecutive day. The new cases brought the cumulative number of registered infections to 24.3 million as the resumption of classes following two weeks of school holidays marked a sharp resurgence of the epidemic.

A third of U.S. COVID now caused by Omicron BA.2 as overall cases fall

About one-in-three COVID-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, according to government data on Tuesday that also showed overall infections still declining from January's record highs. Despite the rise of the extremely contagious sub-variant also seen in other countries, U.S. health experts say a major wave of new infections here appears unlikely.

France lets some farms asphyxiate poultry flocks to stop bird flu

France has authorised some farmers to kill their poultry by asphyxia to stop a rapid spread of bird flu that has made it difficult for veterinary services to cope with massive culling, French Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said on Tuesday. The practice, allowed only because of a rebound in outbreaks in the western part of the country that hosts about 25% of the country's poultry flock, has come under fire from farm unions and animal welfare activists who say it is cruel and unacceptable.

Shanghai's local COVID cases hit daily record as Jilin outbreak persists

China's financial hub Shanghai on Tuesday reported a fifth consecutive daily record for locally transmitted COVID-19 asymptomatic cases as the highly infectious Omicron variant complicates efforts to stop the virus spreading. Although small compared with the number of infections in many outbreaks overseas, the rise is significant as Shanghai redoubles its efforts to implement China's "dynamic clearance" policy designed to curb each flare-up.

500,000 refugees from Ukraine have mental health issues-WHO

About half a million refugees from Ukraine who have fled to Poland need support for mental health disorders, and 30,000 have severe mental health problems, the representative for the World Health Organisation in Poland said on Tuesday. Refugees arriving in Poland are suffering from a range of health problems, including diarrhea and dehydration, but the main need is for support due to trauma, Paloma Cuchi, WHO representative in Poland, told a briefing in Geneva.