Health News Roundup: Beijing shuts parks, museums as China's COVID cases rise; Novavax ends COVID vaccine sale agreement with Gavi and more

China's capital city is facing its most complex and severe COVID control situation since the start of the pandemic, Liu Xiaofeng, the deputy director of Beijing's municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said. Philips flags new problems with previously-replaced ventilators Philips, which has been struggling with a major recall of ventilators, on Monday flagged further problems with some machines it has previously replaced, according to an FDA statement.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Beijing shuts parks, museums as China's COVID cases rise

Beijing shut parks, shopping malls and museums on Tuesday while more Chinese cities resumed mass testing for COVID-19, as China fights a fresh nationwide spike in cases that has deepened concerns about its economy. China reported 28,127 new local cases nationally for Monday, nearing its daily infection peak in April, with cases in the southern city of Guangzhou and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing account for about half of the total. In the capital Beijing, cases have hit a fresh record high, prompting calls for more residents to stay put.

Novavax ends COVID vaccine sale agreement with Gavi

Novavax Inc said on Monday it had delivered a written notice to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, terminating with immediate effect an agreement for the sale of the company's COVID-19 vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. The company cited Gavi's failure to procure the 350 million doses it had agreed to buy in May last year for the COVAX facility.

Hong Kong leader tests positive for COVID after APEC summit

Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders. The global financial hub has fewer COVID-19 curbs than the rest of China, but it still does not treat the virus as endemic, as most of the world does. That dissuades tourists and many business travelers from entering.

Japan's Shionogi shares jump after report of COVID drug gaining efficacy approval

Shares in Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co Ltd rose nearly 3% by mid-morning on Tuesday after the Yomiuri newspaper said the country's regulatory agency had compiled a report confirming the possible efficacy of the company's COVID-19 drug.

Regulators in Japan previously denied emergency approval for the Shionogi pill, saying they wanted to see more data on its effectiveness. There were also concerns the drug could pose risk to pregnancies, based on results from animal studies.

Beijing reports 316 new local COVID cases, enforces inbound travel rules

Beijing city reports 316 new local COVID cases for the 15 hours to 3 p.m. on Monday, a city official said during a briefing. China's capital city is facing its most complex and severe COVID control situation since the start of the pandemic, Liu Xiaofeng, the deputy director of Beijing's municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

Philips flags new problems with previously-replaced ventilators

Philips, which has been struggling with a major recall of ventilators, on Monday flagged further problems with some machines it has previously replaced, according to an FDA statement. A Philips spokesperson said that only Trilogy 100/200 venilator models were potentially affected.

Predictive value of 'good' cholesterol level varies by race, U.S. study finds

The widely-held concept that levels of "good" cholesterol in the blood can indicate heart disease risk is not equally true for Blacks and whites, and the measure itself may be of less value than previously thought, according to a U.S. study published on Monday. Various types of cholesterol are thought to have either healthy or unhealthy effects.

Netherlands to cull another 29,000 chickens to contain bird flu

The Netherlands is to cull another 29,000 chickens on a farm in the north of the country after the detection of a highly infectious strain of bird flu, the government said on Monday. The farm is in the town of Koudum, 100 kms (62 miles) west of Groningen. A transport ban has been imposed on seven other nearby farms, a government statement said.

Ballooning use of laughing gas in Europe is no joke, drugs agency says

The recreational use of nitrous oxide, also known as "laughing gas", is on the rise in Europe among young people, producing worrying numbers of poisonings, the European Union drugs monitoring agency EMCDDA said in a study. The growing popularity of the substance, which causes a feeling of euphoria, relaxation and dissociation from reality, stems from its wide over-the-counter availability, low price, ease of use and the false perception that it is safe, the Lisbon-based agency said.

(With inputs from agencies.)