Health News Roundup: Japan panel approves AstraZeneca's Evusheld COVID treatment; Swiss drugs regulator approves first bivalent Covid-19 booster and more

The Danish company, which is the maker of the only approved monkeypox vaccine, had earlier this month signed up Michigan-based Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing to package the two-dose shot. U.S. to suspend free COVID-19 test orders next week Starting next week, Americans will no longer be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests from a website set up by the U.S. government due to limited supply arising from a lack of congressional funding.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Bayer: New data shows positive effect of kidney disease treatment drug

Bayer said that new data presented on Monday highlighted the potential of finerenone, compared with a placebo, to reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death in a broad range of patients, including early and late stages of chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes.

Philips expands respiratory devices recall on possible plastic contamination

Dutch medical device maker Philips said on Monday it has expanded an earlier recall of some respiratory machines to a total of 1,700 devices globally due to possible contamination of a plastic component with a non-compatible material. The company's subsidiary, Philips Respironics, has not received any reports of patient harm due to the issue but announced the recall to prevent future occurrences, a Philips spokesperson said.

Japan panel approves AstraZeneca's Evusheld COVID treatment

Japan's health ministry said on Monday that its panel of experts had agreed to approve manufacturing and sales of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 preventive treatment Evusheld. Evusheld is designed to protect against COVID infection for at least six months, and has been deployed in many countries for people with compromised immune systems who see little or no benefit from vaccines.

Swiss drugs regulator approves first bivalent Covid-19 booster

Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Monday that it has approved the first bivalent Covid-19 booster vaccine in the country. Moderna's Spikevax vaccine, which contains mRNA against two coronavirus variants, is authorized for anyone 18 years or older, said Swissmedic.

Novartis: Scemblix approved in the EU for adults with chronic myeloid leukemia

Novartis said on Monday its Scemblix was approved by the European Commission for adult patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), offering a new treatment approach for patients with intolerance to other therapies. Patients with CML generally receive oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapies, and those experiencing side effects or resistance have little hope of controlling their disease, the Swiss pharma group said in a statement.

China's Shenzhen shuts electronics market to fight COVID outbreak

Authorities in China's southern city of Shenzhen shut the world's largest electronics market of Huaqiangbei and suspended service at 24 subway stations on Monday in a bid to curb an outbreak of COVID-19. Three key buildings in the sprawling area, comprised of thousands of stalls selling microchips, telephone parts, and other components to manufacturers, will stay closed until Sept 2.

U.S. govt to provide $11 million for production of monkeypox vaccine

The U.S. government said on Monday it would provide about $11 million to support the packaging of Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos monkeypox vaccine at a U.S.-based manufacturer's facility. The Danish company, which is the maker of the only approved monkeypox vaccine, had earlier this month signed up Michigan-based Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing to package the two-dose shot.

U.S. to suspend free COVID-19 test orders next week

Starting next week, Americans will no longer be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests from a website set up by the U.S. government due to limited supply arising from a lack of congressional funding. The COVIDTests.gov website, set up during the Omicron variant record surge in cases, helped U.S. households secure COVID-19 tests at no cost.

Namibia suspends livestock imports from Botswana after animal disease scare

Namibia on Monday announced the suspension of livestock imports and other related meat products from Botswana after its eastern neighbour announced last week that it is investigating a suspected outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Suspected cases of the viral disease - which causes lesions and lameness in cattle, sheep and other cloven-hoofed animals but does not affect people - were detected in Botswana's North East district.

Argentine woman's affordable chemo cap offers hope by preventing hair loss

After doctors diagnosed Paula Estrada with breast cancer in 2009, the then 41-year-old Argentine decided she would not only beat the disease, but would do so without losing her long blonde hair to the ravages of chemotherapy. At her home in Buenos Aires, Estrada, a graphic designer by profession, set about creating a makeshift cooling cap out of ice packs to keep her scalp cold - and ward off hair loss.

(With inputs from agencies.)