Health News Roundup: China COVID curbs exact wider business toll on Yum, EV maker Nio; China striving to control new COVID outbreaks - commission and more

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, oncology treatments are nearly four times as costly as other therapies and are largely paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like the government's Medicare plan for people over age 65, the report notes. Analysis-Wanted: an oxygen monitor reliable for all races Medical device makers and scientists are working on new technologies to improve widely-used devices that assess potential heart and respiratory problems given mounting evidence that current ones could lead to inadequate healthcare for patients with darker skin.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China COVID curbs exact wider business toll on Yum, EV maker Nio

Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO suspended production at its plants in the eastern city of Hefei as rising COVID-19 cases and China's heavy-handed response to outbreaks exact a widening toll on manufacturing and the economy. The impact was also felt in the central city of Zhengzhou, where the industrial park housing a massive Apple iPhone factory announced a fresh lockdown, even as the plant's owner, Foxconn, scrambles to placate workers frustrated with ongoing virus curbs.

China striving to control new COVID outbreaks - commission

China is striving to control the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 infections in the shortest possible time, the health commission said on Wednesday in its first comments since the 20th Communist Party Congress as cases rise across major cities.

China should unwaveringly stick to its dynamic zero-COVID policy, the National Health Commission said.

Macau's MGM Cotai casino reopens after tests show clear of COVID

Macau casino MGM Cotai, operated by MGM China, reopened on Wednesday after being sealed for three days after a dealer was found to be infected with COVID and authorities quarantined more than 1,500 people inside in response. All of the people held in the casino resort in the Chinese special administrative region tested negative for the coronavirus and had been released, health authorities said, however they must take daily coronavirus tests.

Magic mushroom compound shows promise as depression treatment in key study

The main psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms can significantly reduce symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression, data from the largest clinical trial ever to test the keenly-watched compound has found. The mid-stage study, conducted by the London-based and Nasdaq-listed COMPASS Pathways, involved 233 patients with so-called treatment-resistant depression who have failed to benefit from at least two antidepressants.

New U.S. cancer drug prices rise 53% in five years -report

The annual price of a newly-launched cancer drug in the United States averaged $283,000 last year, a 53% increase from 2017, according to a new report from U.S. Democratic Representative Katie Porter, a consumer bankruptcy law professor running for re-election in California. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, oncology treatments are nearly four times as costly as other therapies and are largely paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like the government's Medicare plan for people over age 65, the report notes.

Analysis-Wanted: an oxygen monitor reliable for all races

Medical device makers and scientists are working on new technologies to improve widely-used devices that assess potential heart and respiratory problems given mounting evidence that current ones could lead to inadequate healthcare for patients with darker skin. Doctors have long known that pulse oximeters are less accurate in estimating blood oxygen levels in non-white patients, but the discrepancies were considered insignificant. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the real dangers of these flaws, as the devices gave falsely high oxygen readings in patients with dark skin.

Swiss drugs regulator looking into bubbles in COVID booster vials

Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Wednesday it is examining potential risks in connection with bubbles that appeared in vials of COVID-19 vaccine boosters retooled to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Swissmedic said it had been informed by vaccination centres of the appearance of bubbles during the preparation of the updated vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech targeting the original version of the coronavirus and the BA.1 Omicron variant that led to a record surge in cases last winter.

China's daily local COVID cases hit 3,200 for Nov 2, highest since Aug. 17

China recorded 3,200 daily local COVID-19 cases for Nov. 2, the highest in two and a half months, of which 531 were symptomatic and 2,669 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Thursday. It was the first time local daily cases have exceeded 3,000 since Aug. 17.

Father blames China's COVID policy for son's death that sparked online anger

The father of a 3-year-old boy who died on Tuesday from carbon monoxide poisoning in northwest China said strict COVID-19 policies "indirectly killed" his son by causing delays in obtaining treatment, in a case that has sparked social media outrage. The boy's death is the latest incident to trigger blowback over China's strict zero-COVID policy, with one critical hashtag racking up 380 million reads on Wednesday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

'Considerable' monkeypox transmission happens before symptoms, study suggests

Monkeypox can spread before symptoms appear, British researchers said on Wednesday, providing the first evidence indicating the virus can be transmitted this way. It was previously thought that monkeypox was almost entirely spread by people who were already sick, although pre-symptomatic transmission had not been ruled out and some routine screening had picked up cases without symptoms.