Health News Roundup: WTO meeting on COVID vaccine rights waiver went 'very well' -chair; Third Ebola patient dies in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo and more

At present, nearly 25 million residents in the eastern financial hub of Shanghai remain under some form of lockdown as the city battles China's biggest ever coronavirus outbreak. WTO meeting on COVID vaccine rights waiver went 'very well' -chair The first World Trade Organization meeting to discuss a draft agreement to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines went "very well", its chair said on Friday, although some members voiced reservations.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 07-05-2022 02:36 IST | Created: 07-05-2022 02:30 IST
Health News Roundup: WTO meeting on COVID vaccine rights waiver went 'very well' -chair; Third Ebola patient dies in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo and more
Representative image Image Credit: Twitter(@GovernmentZA)

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China builds permanent COVID testing stations for life after lockdown

China is setting up thousands of permanent PCR testing stations, with 9,000 already completed in Shanghai alone, as authorities seek to "normalise" tough pandemic controls even after the current round of lockdowns end. At present, nearly 25 million residents in the eastern financial hub of Shanghai remain under some form of lockdown as the city battles China's biggest ever coronavirus outbreak.

WTO meeting on COVID vaccine rights waiver went 'very well' -chair

The first World Trade Organization meeting to discuss a draft agreement to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines went "very well", its chair said on Friday, although some members voiced reservations. The WTO's 164 members on Friday discussed the "outcome document" that stems from months of negotiations between the main parties - the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa - in an effort to break an 18-month deadlock over the issue.

Obesity may weaken vaccine protection; unvaccinated Omicron patients face risk from variants

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Obesity may weaken vaccine protection in the never infected

Shanghai says China's worst COVID outbreak 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.

Third Ebola patient dies in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo

The third Ebola patient in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo has died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, the latest fatality in an outbreak first reported last month. The 48-year-old man was the most recent confirmed case in Congo's 14th outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever, which has hit the city of Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Beijing residents fretted on Friday over tightening COVID curbs in its biggest district and dozens of new cases reported daily as China's leaders reiterated their resolve to battle the virus and threatened action against critics of their strict measures. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

U.S. elections may thwart Democratic effort to cap insulin cost

U.S. lawmakers attempting to cut the cost of insulin for more than a million Americans to $35 per month are unlikely to succeed as November elections draw near and complicate bipartisan support, health policy and political experts say. The U.S. House of Representatives in March passed a bill capping monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs for those with health insurance at $35. Senators are drafting a wider bill that also provides incentive for drugmakers to lower list prices.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Alito's abortion history lesson in dispute

Justice Samuel Alito's draft U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide hinges on a contested historical review of restrictions on the procedure enacted during the 19th century. Lawyers and scholars backing abortion rights have criticized Alito's reading of history as glossing over disputed facts and ignoring relevant details as the conservative justice sought to demonstrate that a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy was wrongly recognized in the Roe ruling.

Yelp, other companies take stance on abortion rights with travel benefit

Yelp Inc, Amazon.com, and Citigroup are among a small but growing number of companies rolling out policies to cover costs for American employees who need to travel out of state for an abortion. Yelp Inc was one of the first to offer support for its employees who might need to travel out of state for access to abortion, a decision the company says was made to ensure its workers have equal access to healthcare.

U.S. identifies 109 cases of severe hepatitis, including 5 deaths, in children

U.S. health officials on Friday said they are investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis of unknown origin in children, including five reported deaths, updating a nationwide alert issued in April for doctors to be on the lookout for such cases of the liver disease. The cases have been identified over the past seven months in 25 states and territories, Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said during a conference call.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Give Feedback