Health News Roundup: Walgreens beats estimates on Omicron-led demand for vaccines, tests; Pakistan disbands COVID-19 response body as infections at lowest and more

Governments and health authorities around the world continue to push for increased testing and vaccine booster doses as the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.2 has prompted surges in cases in many countries in Europe and Asia, and raised concerns over a potential new wave in the United States. Shanghai residents rush to stock up as second stage of COVID lockdown looms Residents of China's commercial capital of Shanghai scrambled on Thursday to stock up groceries as they braced for a lockdown in the city's western areas to stop the spread of COVID-19, while authorities appealed for continued compliance with curbs.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Walgreens beats estimates on Omicron-led demand for vaccines, tests

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and sales on Thursday, boosted by a rush for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing during a recent Omicron-led surge in COVID-19 cases. Governments and health authorities around the world continue to push for increased testing and vaccine booster doses as the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.2 has prompted surges in cases in many countries in Europe and Asia, and raised concerns over a potential new wave in the United States.

Shanghai residents rush to stock up as second stage of COVID lockdown looms

Residents of China's commercial capital of Shanghai scrambled on Thursday to stock up groceries as they braced for a lockdown in the city's western areas to stop the spread of COVID-19, while authorities appealed for continued compliance with curbs. The city, home to 26 million people, is in the fourth day of a two-stage lockdown divided between the historic centre west of the Huangpu River and the financial and industrial district of Pudong in the east.

Pakistan disbands COVID-19 response body as infections at lowest

Pakistan has disbanded the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), which was overseeing the COVID-19 response in the country, as the infection’s numbers were at the lowest since the start of the outbreak early in 2020, the prime minister said on Thursday. The South Asian country reported 244 positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with a 0.82% positivity rate.

Analysis-Governments want COVID vaccine developers to aim higher in hunt for better shots

As governments prepare to live with COVID-19, some are questioning how much to rely on drugmakers to adapt vaccines to ward off future virus variants amid signs of tension between companies and regulators over the best approach, according to several sources familiar with the matter. Some vaccine experts say government agencies should fund and help develop a new generation of COVID shots, and seek innovation from smaller developers, as they did to identify current vaccines.

Fresenius agrees two acquisitions to bolster Kabi drugs unit

Fresenius's generic drugs unit Kabi has agreed to buy a majority stake in the mAbxience division of Spain's Insud Pharma to expand its business making cheaper versions of biotechnology drugs that have lost patent protection. The German healthcare group said on Thursday it would acquire a 55% stake in mAbxience, a maker of affordable biosimilar versions of cancer drugs MabThera and Avastin, for 495 million euros ($553 million), plus milestone payments contingent on commercial and development targets.

Hong Kong reports 6,646 new coronavirus infections

Hong Kong reported 6,646 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, down from 6,981 the previous day, and 119 deaths as daily infections continue to decline in the global financial hub, which is gradually easing restrictions.

WHO lays out plan to emerge from emergency phase of pandemic

The World Health Organization on Wednesday released an updated plan for COVID-19, laying out key strategies that, if implemented in 2022, would allow the world to end the emergency phase of the pandemic. The plan includes three possible scenarios for how the virus might evolve in the coming year.

Bayer to invest 2 billion euros in drug production over next 3 years

German drugmaker Bayer said it would invest around 2 billion euros ($2.23 billion) at pharmaceutical manufacturing sites over the next three years, mainly to bolster production of biotechnology drugs as well as cell and gene therapies. The sites to be upgraded include Berkeley, California, as well as Berlin, Leverkusen and Bergkamen in Germany.

France's Sanofi offers 1.5 billion euro bond linked to access to medicine

French healthcare group Sanofi said it had priced a first sustainability-linked bond issue that will be indexed on access to medicines, and worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion).

The company said the costs of financing would be linked to achieving concrete targets in terms of a cumulative number of patients being provided with essential medicines over the next five years.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Shanghai authorities appealed to residents to keep cooperating with tight curbs imposed to stop COVID-19 spreading, saying they recognised their frustrations as China's most populous city entered the fourth day of a two-stage lockdown on Thursday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

(With inputs from agencies.)