Health News Roundup: Canada, in a world first, proposes health warnings on individual cigarettes; U.S. drops COVID testing for incoming international air travelers and more

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky issued a four-page order https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/rescission-global-testing-order-p.pdf.pdf lifting the mandate, effective at 12:01 a.m. ET (0400 GMT) Sunday, saying it is "not currently necessary." U.S. FDA staff says Moderna COVID vaccine effective and safe for children U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers on Friday said Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for use in children aged 6 months to 17 years old as a committee of scientists will meet next week to vote on whether to recommend the regulator authorize the vaccine in children.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Canada, in a world first, proposes health warnings on individual cigarettes

Canada is proposing that written health warnings be printed on individual cigarettes, the first country in the world to do so, a federal minister said on Friday. In 2001, Canada broke new ground globally by requiring picture warnings on cigarette packages. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett said the measure had become stale for the 13% of Canadians who smoke regularly.

U.S. drops COVID testing for incoming international air travelers

The United States late Friday rescinded a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19, a move that follows intense lobbying by airlines and the travel industry. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky issued a four-page order https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/rescission-global-testing-order-p.pdf.pdf lifting the mandate, effective at 12:01 a.m. ET (0400 GMT) Sunday, saying it is "not currently necessary."

U.S. FDA staff says Moderna COVID vaccine effective and safe for children

U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers on Friday said Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for use in children aged 6 months to 17 years old as a committee of scientists will meet next week to vote on whether to recommend the regulator authorize the vaccine in children. The FDA's reviewers said in briefing documents published on Friday evening that the vaccine had generated a similar immune response in the children than that observed in adults in previous trials.

N.Korea reports 40,060 more people with fever symptoms amid COVID outbreak -KCNA

North Korea on Sunday reported 40,060 new people showing fever symptoms and one death amid the isolated nation's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, state media KCNA said.

Valneva working on a remediation plan for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate

French drugmaker Valneva said on Friday it had proposed a remediation plan after receiving the European Commission's notice of intent to terminate the advance purchase agreement for its inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate. "Some member states have confirmed their interest in having an inactivated, adjuvanted whole-virus vaccine solution in their portfolio," the company said in a statement.

White House says Delta to ship UK baby formula starting June 20

Delta Air Lines Inc will start transporting 3.2 million bottles of Kendamil baby formula on June 20, the White House said on Friday in announcing the sixth shipment of overseas formula to help quell a U.S. shortage. Delta will ship about 212,000 pounds of the British formula maker's product from London to Boston and Detroit, where it will then get to retailers, the White House said in a statement.

FDA requires disclosure of suicide risk for anti-baldness drug

U.S. health regulators rejected a request to remove the popular anti-baldness pill Propecia and its generic versions from the market, but for the first time required patient notification about reports of suicidal behavior in men taking the drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has previously approved revised Propecia labels that mentioned risks of persistent sexual dysfunction and depression but not suicide. A patient advocacy group, the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation, petitioned the FDA in 2017 to order Merck & Co to either stop selling the drug or require far stronger warnings, citing several scientific studies. Finasteride is the generic name for Propecia.

Bluebird bio's gene therapy for blood disorder gets FDA panel backing

Bluebird bio's treatment for a rare blood disorder received backing from advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday, in a vote of confidence in gene therapies and bolstering the company beset by regulatory setbacks. The decision comes less than 24 hours after the same committee in a surprise move endorsed approval of bluebird's other gene therapy, eli-cel, for a rare neurological disease despite concerns that the treatment may cause cancer.

U.S. seeks to expand monkeypox testing as cases rise

U.S. health officials are working to expand capabilities to test for monkeypox beyond a narrow group of public health labs, heeding calls from infectious disease experts who say testing for the virus needs to become part of routine care. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a conference call on Friday that her agency is working with the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand testing capacity to include commercial laboratories.

Mass COVID testing announced for Beijing's Chaoyang district amid 'ferocious' outbreak

Beijing's most populous district Chaoyang announced three rounds of mass testing to quell a "ferocious" COVID-19 outbreak that emerged at a bar in a nightlife and shopping area last week, shortly after the city relaxed curbs imposed during an outbreak in April. City health officials said that so far there have been 166 confirmed cases linked to the outbreak that began at the Heaven Supermarket bar in the Sanlitun area on Thursday, 145 of them bar patrons.

(With inputs from agencies.)