Health News Roundup: Surge in Gambia child deaths linked cough syrup under control, president says; Canada authorizes Pfizer's Omicron retooled booster and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Surge in Gambia child deaths linked cough syrup under control, president says

Gambia's President Adama Barrow on Friday said a surge in acute kidney injuries likely linked to a paracetamol syrup that killed dozens of children in past months was under control, with only two diagnoses in the last two weeks. Authorities launched a probe last month after doctors in July noticed that a number of children developed symptoms after taking a locally-sold paracetamol syrup used to treat fevers.

Canada authorizes Pfizer's Omicron retooled booster

Canada on Friday authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE that target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, according to the government's website. Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint statement the companies will make "significant volumes of the vaccine available in the coming days".

Becton recalls some sterilization containers due to quality breach

Becton Dickinson & Co is recalling some models of its sterilization containers sold under the Genesis Sterrad brand in the United States and Canada, the company said on Friday, citing "discrepant test results" during an internal quality assessment.

The company said it had found the recalled product models had conflicting results for a quality test known as the aerosol challenge in 2011.

White House says COVID booster campaign going well, should pick up

The White House expects the rate of vaccination in its fall booster campaign to pick up over the coming weeks, and its COVID response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on Friday characterized the initial pace as "a really good start." The United States in September started rolling out the updated COVID shots, redesigned to take on both the currently circulating BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants as well as the original version of the virus targeted by all previous COVID vaccines and boosters. The so-called bivalent boosters are available to anyone aged 12 and older.

U.S. reports highly lethal bird flu in Arkansas chickens

A highly lethal form of avian flu infected a commercial flock of breeding chickens in Arkansas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, widening an outbreak of the disease in the key southern producing region. Nationwide, more than 47 million birds have been killed by avian flu or culled to control its spread this year in the nation's worst outbreak since a record 50 million birds were wiped out in 2015.

CVS Health, Centene lead health insurers lower after 2023 Medicare ratings

Shares of drugstore operator CVS Health fell as much as 10% and insurer Centene slumped 8%, leading to declines in major U.S. health insurers after performance ratings for health insurance plans from a federal government program were released.

CVS' largest health insurance plan for Medicare recipients received a lower performance rating, the company said on Thursday, leading to more than $11.6 billion being wiped off its market value by 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday.

Indonesia in talks with African countries to export its homemade COVID shot

Indonesia is in talks with several African countries, including Nigeria, to export and donate its homemade COVID-19 vaccine, its developer said on Friday, after becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to approve a domestically developed COVID shot. Indonesian approval for the shot, the detailed trial data of which has yet to be announced and is primarily based on coronavirus variants preceding Omicron, underscores progress in vaccine research and in reducing reliance on foreign technology.

Appeals court temporarily blocks Arizona's abortion ban

An appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked Arizona from enforcing a 1901 ban on nearly all abortions in the state, overruling a trial court's decision last month to let the ban proceed. The Arizona Court of Appeals granted Planned Parenthood's request for an emergency stay of Pima County Superior Court's ruling on Sept. 23 that lifted an injunction on the ban. The appeals court said the abortion-rights advocacy group "demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success" in its challenge of that decision.

U.S. EPA proposes to declare aviation lead emissions public health danger

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday said it was proposing to declare emissions from piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded fuel pose a danger to public health. Emissions from the 190,000 U.S. general aviation airplanes operating on leaded fuel account for about 70% of the lead entering the atmosphere, according to U.S. government estimates. Lead is not in jet fuel, which is used by commercial aircraft.

FDA expands use of GSK's vaccine during pregnancy to prevent whooping cough in infants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday allowed the use of GlaxoSmithKline's Boostrix vaccine during the third trimester of pregnancy to prevent whooping cough in infants younger than two months of age. "When the Boostrix vaccine is given during pregnancy, it boosts antibodies in the mother, which are transferred to the developing baby," the agency said.

(With inputs from agencies.)