Health News Roundup: Britain widens access to Pfizer's COVID antiviral drug through trial; Philadelphia to reimpose indoor mask mandate in public spaces and more

Paxlovid, a combination of Pfizer's new pill with an older antiviral ritonavir, was made available to thousands of people with compromised immune systems in Britain in February. Philadelphia to reimpose indoor mask mandate in public spaces Philadelphia will again require masks in indoor public settings such as restaurants, schools and businesses starting next week, the city said on Monday, responding to what appears to be a fresh wave of coronavirus transmissions.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Britain widens access to Pfizer's COVID antiviral drug through trial

Britain will expand access to Pfizer's oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment to thousands more people by adding it to a trial to assess how best to use the drug in its highly vaccinated population, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Paxlovid, a combination of Pfizer's new pill with older antiviral ritonavir, was made available to thousands of people with compromised immune systems in Britain in February.

Philadelphia to reimpose indoor mask mandate in public spaces

Philadelphia will again require masks in indoor public settings such as restaurants, schools, and businesses starting next week, the city said on Monday, responding to what appears to be a fresh wave of coronavirus transmissions. The new rule, which is set to take effect on April 18, will make Philadelphia the first major city in the United States to reimpose such a mandate.

White House faces April 18 deadline on transit mask mandate

The Biden administration faces an April 18 deadline on whether to extend or end a mandate requiring travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, and in transit hubs. Industry groups and Republican lawmakers want the White House to end the 14-month-old mask mandate. But it comes amid a spike in COVID-19 cases - including numerous U.S. officials who attended a recent white-tie dinner in Washington.

Drugs running out, surgeries canceled as Sri Lanka's health system buckles

Rosanne White was first diagnosed with cancer eight years ago and lost a kidney. After the cancer returned five years ago, an oncologist in Sri Lanka's commercial capital Colombo started her on Bevacizumab last May, a treatment she was responding to. White, a 58-year-old Sri Lankan retiree, said she had received the injections free of charge as part of the country's universal government health system, which the vast majority of its 22 million people depend on.

FDA lifts partial clinical hold on Gilead's blood cancer drug trials

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had lifted the partial clinical hold placed on its trials testing a blood cancer drug combination. The FDA removed the hold after a review of the safety data from each trial, the company said.

Shanghai eases COVID curbs for some even as factory halts widen

Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as "full or partial lockdowns," China's leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its "zero-COVID" strategy, but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection.

Walgreens flooded Florida with addictive opioids, lawyer tells jury

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc supplied billions of opioid pills to drug addicts and criminals, contributing to an addiction epidemic in Florida, a lawyer for the state said on Monday in a civil trial against the pharmacy chain. Walgreens filled one in four opioid prescriptions in Florida between 1999 and 2020, and failed to investigate red flags that could have prevented drugs from being diverted for illegal use, the state's lawyer Jim Webster said as jurors heard opening statements in the trial held in New Port Richey.

WHO says it is analyzing two new Omicron COVID sub-variants

The World Health Organization said on Monday it is tracking a few dozen cases of two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the coronavirus to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous. It has added BA.4 and BA.5, sister variants of the original BA.1 Omicron variant, to its list for monitoring. It is already tracking BA.1 and BA.2 - now globally dominant - as well as BA.1.1 and BA.3.

Shanghai patients crowdsource medical help during COVID lockdown

Shanghai residents have turned online for grassroots help on medical treatment as the city's tough COVID-19 curbs limit access to healthcare and fuel frustration and anxiety. While the city of 25 million has used lockdowns and extensive testing to fight the disease, those suffering from other medical conditions are posting requests for help in mutual-help platforms and social media chat groups.

Taiwan sees 1,000 daily local COVID cases by end of month

Taiwan expects daily domestic COVID-19 infections to top 1,000 a day by the end of the month, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Tuesday, calling on people not to panic about a wave that is causing a few serious cases. Taiwan has been a model for how to control the pandemic. It moved early and effectively with such measures as largely closing its borders and implementing highly efficient contact tracing.