Health News Roundup: Unrelenting COVID rules cast clouds over Hong Kong schools; New York to ramp up polio vaccinations after virus found in wastewater and more

Airlines accepting government assistance that funded payroll costs were prohibited from furloughs or firing workers and faced limits on executive compensation and bans on stock buybacks and dividends. Novartis drug shown to ease symptoms of painful skin condition Novartis said its anti-inflammatory drug Cosentyx eased the symptoms of a painful, lump-forming skin condition in two late-stage trials, putting the approved treatment on track to further shore up sales growth at the Swiss drugmaker.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Unrelenting COVID rules cast clouds over Hong Kong schools

In Hong Kong, stringent COVID-19 curbs have long made life for school students extremely hard. Now, a new rule requiring higher vaccination levels could upend what progress has been made towards resuming full-day in-person classes. Further delays to normal school life are likely to exacerbate youth mental health problems as well as give more people reason to leave the city, further undermining its status as an Asian financial hub, educators and business leaders warn.

New York to ramp up polio vaccinations after virus found in wastewater

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency on Friday in a bid to accelerate efforts to vaccinate residents against polio after the virus was detected in wastewater samples taken in four counties. Hochul's executive order followed the discovery of the virus last month in samples from Long Island's Nassau County, bordering the New York City borough of Queens. Earlier this year the virus was found in samples from Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties, all north of the city.

Lawmakers seek U.S. probe on airline handling of COVID funds

The leaders of two congressional committees want a federal probe into whether airlines used government pandemic money to fund pilot buyouts and early retirements that may have fueled current pilot shortages, according to a letter released on Friday. Congress approved $54 billion in three rounds covering much of U.S. airline payroll costs for 18 months that ended in September 2021. Airlines accepting government assistance that funded payroll costs were prohibited from furloughs or firing workers and faced limits on executive compensation and bans on stock buybacks and dividends.

Novartis drug shown to ease symptoms of painful skin condition

Novartis said its anti-inflammatory drug Cosentyx eased the symptoms of a painful, lump-forming skin condition in two late-stage trials, putting the approved treatment on track to further shore up sales growth at the Swiss drugmaker. In a statement on Saturday, the company said that the drug, already approved for conditions like psoriasis and arthritis, demonstrated rapid and sustained relief in trial participants suffering from hidradenitis suppurativa.

U.S. starts enrollment in trial testing Siga's antiviral for monkeypox

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Friday it had started enrolling monkeypox patients in a late-stage study testing Siga Technologies Inc's antiviral pill Tpoxx against the disease. The oral and intravenous formulations of Tpoxx are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of smallpox but do not yet have clearance to treat monkeypox.

China's financial hub Shanghai to extend free COVID testing services

China's financial hub Shanghai will extend free regular COVID-19 testing services to Oct. 31 to further consolidate the results of their epidemic prevention efforts, the city government said on Friday. Citizens are required to take at least one PCR test each week until the end of October, the city government said on its Wechat account.

(With inputs from agencies.)