Health News Roundup: Walgreens prescriptions added to San Francisco's opioid epidemic - judge; Russia's daily coronavirus cases jump to 25,815 and more

Beset by soaring inflation that depresses livelihoods as the peso currency steadily declines, the dysfunctional economy is wreaking havoc on the population's state of mind as well as its wallets. Africa CDC hopeful Aspen will get COVID vaccine orders Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it was hopeful South African pharmaceutical firm Aspen Pharmacare would get orders for its own brand COVID-19 vaccine.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Walgreens prescriptions added to San Francisco's opioid epidemic - judge

Walgreens Boots Alliance contributed to the opioid epidemic in San Francisco through its sale of prescription drugs in the city, a federal judge concluded on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said that Walgreens failed to properly investigate suspicious opioid orders for nearly 15 years. The amount the pharmacy chain must pay will be determined in a later trial.

Russia's daily coronavirus cases jump to 25,815

Russia reported 25,815 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, authorities said, the highest such figure since March 23. Fifty-two people in Russia died of coronavirus over the last day, the country's task force against COVID-19 said.

GSK, Sanofi, Haleon slump on Zantac litigation concerns

Shares in GSK, Sanofi and Haleon fell sharply on Thursday, following declines earlier this week, amid growing concerns about U.S. litigation over a heartburn drug that was pulled from the market in 2020 for containing a probable carcinogen. By early afternoon, GSK shares had tumbled 13.8% from their closing price on Friday, Sanofi's stock was down 18.8% in that time and Haleon's had fallen 15.9%.

Sick again, Argentine's economy eats away at nation's mental health -study

Argentines mired in their country's latest economic meltdown are experiencing a growing sense of hopelessness, according to a landmark mental health study that points to boom times for at least one profession: psychologists. Beset by soaring inflation that depresses livelihoods as the peso currency steadily declines, the dysfunctional economy is wreaking havoc on the population's state of mind as well as its wallets.

Africa CDC hopeful Aspen will get COVID vaccine orders

Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it was hopeful South African pharmaceutical firm Aspen Pharmacare would get orders for its own brand COVID-19 vaccine. Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last month that it is in detailed discussions with buyers to generate demand for Aspen's COVID-19 vaccine Aspenovax.

Valneva cuts full-year outlook on lower COVID-19 vaccine sales

French vaccine developer Valneva on Thursday cut its full-year revenue outlook citing lower demand for its anti-COVID shot from European Union member states. The European Commission in July slashed its order for VLA2001 to just 1.25 million doses from a previously targeted 60 million, pointing to European countries being well supplied with other vaccines and a slowdown in vaccination programs.

Several cities in China add COVID curbs as millions still under lockdown

Several COVID-hit Chinese cities from the country's east to west imposed fresh restrictions and lockdowns on their populations on Thursday to contain flare-ups that are again threatening to disrupt local economies. Reducing people's unnecessary movement for a few days - a softer type of lockdown - as soon as dozens of new cases emerge is a key practice of China's "dynamic COVID-zero" strategy. The aim is to avoid turning efforts to halt an outbreak into the extended nightmares seen in Shanghai and Wuhan.

110,000 hens to be slaughtered after bird flu found on a German farm

About 110,000 chickens are to be slaughtered after an outbreak of H5N8 bird flu on a farm in northern Germany, authorities said on Thursday. The disease was confirmed on an egg-producing farm in Language in the Vechta district in the northern state of Lower Saxony, the Vechta district council said.

Delhi to enforce mask mandate again after spurt in COVID cases

New Delhi will enforce a mask mandate again after COVID-19 infections rose in the past fortnight, a government order showed on Thursday, though a similar order in April failed to improve compliance. People caught without masks in public in the Indian capital will have to pay a fine of 500 rupees ($6), the order dated Aug. 8 and shared with reporters on Thursday, said. Presently, mask-wearing is uncommon even in shopping malls and crowded markets.

Polio spreading in London, booster campaign launched for under-10s - health agency

Britain is launching a polio vaccine booster campaign for children in London aged below 10, after confirming that the virus is spreading in the capital for the first time since the 1980s. The UK Health Security Agency has identified 116 polioviruses from 19 sewage samples this year in London. It first raised the alert on finding the virus in sewage samples in June.

(With inputs from agencies.)