Health News Roundup: Italy reports 69,596 coronavirus cases on Thursday, 149 deaths; Michigan governor asks state's top court to protect abortion rights and more

Germany's vaccination campaign is faltering with around 76.6% of Germany's population having received at least one dose - lower than the more than 80% in other western European countries such as France, Italy and Spain. Over two thirds of Africans infected by COVID virus since pandemic began - WHO More than two thirds of Africans have been infected by COVID-19 since the pandemic started, 97 times more than reported confirmed cases, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) study published on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Shanghai vows to improve food deliveries as discontent grows over COVID curbs

The Shanghai government said on Thursday it was trying its best to improve the distribution of food and essential goods to locked-in residents, responding to growing public discontent as COVID curbs stretched into an 11th day. China's financial hub has fallen largely silent after the city imposed harsh curbs to stem the spread of COVID under the country's "zero tolerance" policy, with only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery personnel or people with special permission allowed on the streets.

How to prepare for the financial hit of long COVID

When Nicole Flecchia contracted COVID-19 in January of 2021, the University of Rhode Island grad student figured she might be looking at a few days or weeks of symptoms. It is now April of 2022, and the symptoms have never really gone away.

Italy reports 69,596 coronavirus cases on Thursday, 149 deaths

Italy reported 69,596 COVID-19 related cases on Thursday, against 69,278 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 149 from 150. Italy has registered 160,402 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 15.11 million cases to date.

Michigan governor asks state's top court to protect abortion rights

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday asked the state's top court to recognize the right to abortion under the state constitution ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could undermine abortion rights nationally. Whitmer, a Democrat running for re-election in a competitive race this year, joins several other Democratic state leaders who are seeking to codify abortion rights before the Supreme Court's decision expected this spring.

Alabama lawmakers pass bill criminalizing transgender healthcare

Alabama lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, with a threat of 10 years in prison for medical providers. The legislation, passed 66-28 by the state's House of Representatives on the last day of the legislative session, now goes to Republican Governor Kay Ivey. It is the latest in a flurry of measures in Republican-led states aimed at transgender youth.

Cyprus to lift COVID-19 travel conditions from April 18

Cyprus will lift COVID-19 conditions for travel to the island from April 18, authorities said on Thursday, ending two years of rules imposed by the pandemic. The island said it was scrapping a colour-coded assessment of other countries based on epidemiological risk, an inbound flight permission to travel and PCR or rapid lateral flow tests for those who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Pfizer boosts respiratory drug portfolio with ReViral purchase

Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it would buy privately-held ReViral Ltd in a deal worth as much as $525 million including milestone payments, to gain access to experimental drugs against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The deal marks the U.S. drugmaker's second acquisition in less than six months to boost its drug portfolio, after a $6.7 billion takeover of Arena Pharmaceuticals in December.

German parliament rejects mandatory COVID shots for elderly in blow for Scholz

Germany's lower house of parliament on Thursday voted against a bill requiring anyone aged 60 and over to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in a defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Germany's vaccination campaign is faltering with around 76.6% of Germany's population having received at least one dose - lower than the more than 80% in other western European countries such as France, Italy and Spain.

Over two thirds of Africans infected by COVID virus since pandemic began - WHO

More than two thirds of Africans have been infected by COVID-19 since the pandemic started, 97 times more than reported confirmed cases, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) study published on Thursday. The study found that by September 2021, 800 million Africans had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, compared with 8.2 million cases reported at that time.

U.S. FDA aims to decide on strain selection for COVID boosters by June

Top U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials on Wednesday said the agency is aiming to decide by June whether to change the design of COVID-19 vaccines in order to combat future variants, even if it does not have all the necessary information to measure their effectiveness. "We're going to have to think about this in a way that is less than optimal because we're not going to have all the data that we'd like to have," Peter Marks, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said at a meeting of the agency's scientific advisers to discuss the issue.