Health News Roundup: Evidence mounts for need to study Pfizer's Paxlovid for long COVID - researchers say; Shanghai says China's worst COVID outbreak is under "effective control" and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Evidence mounts for need to study Pfizer's Paxlovid for long COVID - researchers say

Additional reports of patients with long COVID who were helped by Pfizer Inc's oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid offer fresh impetus for conducting clinical trials to test the medicine for the debilitating condition, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Three new case studies follow earlier reports of long COVID patients who experienced relief of their symptoms after taking the treatment, which is currently only authorized for high-risk people early after the onset of COVID symptoms.

Shanghai says China's worst COVID outbreak is under "effective control"

Shanghai said on Friday it has brought China's worst outbreak of COVID-19 under effective control following a month-long lockdown of nearly 25 million people, with authorities vowing to stand by their zero-COVID strategy despite mounting economic costs. The number of new COVID infections in China's financial hub had been on a "continuous downward trend" since April 22, the city's vice major Wu Qing said.

'How did we catch it?': the spread of COVID baffles locked-down Shanghai residents

Veronica thought she did everything right by sticking to all of the COVID-19 lockdown rules in the Chinese city of Shanghai. After the entire city was shut down on April 1, her family of four scrupulously followed government orders to stay at home, stepping out the front door only for mandatory PCR testing.

COVID led to 15 million deaths globally, not the 5 million reported - WHO

Almost three times as many people have died as a result of COVID-19 as official data show, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report, the most comprehensive look at the true global toll of the pandemic so far. There were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of 2021, the U.N. body said on Thursday.

U.S. limits the use of J&J's COVID vaccine on blood clot risks

The U.S. health regulator said on Thursday it was limiting the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for adults due to the risk of a rare blood clotting syndrome, the latest setback to the shot that has been eclipsed by rivals. The J&J shot, which received U.S. clearance in February 2021 for adults, can be administered in cases where authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or if an individual is less keen on using the other two shots, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The travel industry, airlines urge end to COVID testing to enter the U.S

Major U.S. airlines, business and travel groups, and other companies urged the White House on Thursday to abandon COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated international passengers traveling to the United States. "Given the slow economic recovery of the business and international travel sectors, and in light of medical advancements and the improved public health metrics in the U.S., we encourage you to immediately remove the inbound testing requirement for vaccinated air travelers," said the letter signed by American Airlines, Carnival Corp, Marriott International, Walt Disney Co's Disney Parks, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Travel Association and others.

Shanghai reports 12 new COVID-related deaths for May 5, vs 13 a day earlier

China's eastern financial hub of Shanghai reported 12 new COVID-19 deaths for May 5, down from 13 a day earlier, the local government said in a statement on Friday. The city reported 4,024 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases on May 5, down from 4,390 a day earlier.

China reports 4,714 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 5 vs 5,113 a day earlier

Mainland China reported 4,714 new coronavirus cases on May 5, of which 374 were symptomatic and 4,340 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday. That compares with 5,113 new cases a day earlier - 373 symptomatic and 4,740 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

Omicron as severe as other COVID variants -large U.S. study

The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, according to a preprint version of a large U.S. study that counters assumptions in other studies that it was more transmissible but less severe.

The findings, which estimated Omicron's severity after accounting for the impact of vaccines, should reinforce the importance of inoculations and booster shots, experts said. Vaccines helped keep hospitalizations and deaths relatively low during the Omicron surge compared with previous variants.

Louisiana legislators advance bill classifying abortion as homicide

Louisiana lawmakers have advanced a bill that would abolish abortion in the state, grant constitutional rights to "all unborn children from the moment of fertilization" and classify abortion as a homicide crime. The move on Wednesday came two days after a leaked draft ruling showed the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The court's final ruling is expected in June.

(With inputs from agencies.)