Health News Roundup: U.S. FDA approves AstraZeneca's lung cancer drugs; Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds and more

The shot with the brand name VidPrevtyn Beta can be given to people who have already had a primary course of vaccination from other approved shots, the French drugmaker and the European Medicines Agency said in separate statements. China shortens quarantines as it eases some of its COVID rules China on Friday eased some of its strict COVID rules, including shortening quarantines by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travellers, and removing a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Poor access to safe water fuels cholera outbreak in Syria

Poor access to safe water has exacerbated a cholera outbreak rampaging across Syria's war-battered provinces, where local authorities are struggling to contain the spread with chlorine tablets and vaccines. More than 35,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported across the country, according to the United Nations' children's agency. UNICEF said only approximately 2,500 have been tested, of which nearly half were confirmed positive.

Residents cheer after China eases some COVID curbs

Residents welcomed China shortening COVID-19 quarantine by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travellers as it eased some of its strict pandemic rules on Friday. While COVID case numbers in China are small by global standards, the policy response has been marked by lockdowns and mass testing for large populations, even as much of the rest of the world loosened or abandoned restrictions.

Sanofi, GSK score late win with EU COVID booster approval

Sanofi said on Thursday it won European Union approval for its COVID-19 vaccine booster, jointly made with British partner GSK, after a drawn-out development effort that saw the pair fall behind now-dominant vaccine suppliers. The shot with the brand name VidPrevtyn Beta can be given to people who have already had a primary course of vaccination from other approved shots, the French drugmaker and the European Medicines Agency said in separate statements.

China shortens quarantines as it eases some of its COVID rules

China on Friday eased some of its strict COVID rules, including shortening quarantines by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travellers, and removing a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases. The loosening of curbs, a day after President Xi Jinping led his new Politburo Standing Committee in a meeting on COVID, cheered markets even as many experts warned that the measures were incremental and reopening probably remained a long way off.

GSK's oncology business suffers fresh blow with Zejula setback

Britain's GSK said on Friday it would limit the use of its ovarian cancer drug Zejula in the United States as a second treatment option to keep cancer at bay in patients whose tumours carry certain mutations. The news marks a second setback for GSK's oncology portfolio this week, after the company on Monday revealed its blood cancer drug Blenrep failed to outperform an older therapy in a key study, calling into question Blenrep's existing U.S. approval.

German health minister warns of winter COVID wave as states plan easing

Germany is headed towards a surge in COVID-19 cases this winter, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Friday as he criticised four states' plans to relax isolation rules for infected people. Fearing that infection numbers could rise, Lauterbach said: "Then we would have an even stronger wave than we already fear and we are on the eve of a more infectious variant."

Israel detects cholera in reservoir in north

Israel has detected cholera in a reservoir in the north of the country, likely the result of an outbreak in neighbouring Syria spreading, the health ministry said on Friday. The bacteria's detection does not pose a danger to the public at this point, the ministry spokesperson said, adding that the authorities have taken steps to "protect Israel's water sources" and regularly monitor possible water contamination, particularly in the north.

COVID variants BQ.1/BQ.1.1 make up 44% of U.S. cases - CDC

The U.S. national public health agency said on Friday that Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were estimated to account for about 44.2% of COVID-19 cases in the country for the week ending Nov. 12, compared with 32.6% in the previous week. The two variants, which are closely related to Omicron's BA.5 sub-variant that drove COVID-19 cases in United States earlier in the year, made up less than 10% of total cases in the country last month, but currently have surpassed Omicron's BA.5, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds

The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, a study published on Thursday suggests. "Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long COVID," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This was evident in unvaccinated, vaccinated and boosted people."

U.S. FDA approves AstraZeneca's lung cancer drugs

Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Friday its lung cancer drugs Imfinzi and Imjudo have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when used along with chemotherapy for treatment of adults with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.