Health News Roundup: China promises more medicines in rural areas amid COVID surge; China COVID data shows no new variant but under-reports deaths, WHO says and more

China's COVID-19 data is not giving an accurate picture of the situation there and under represents the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the disease, a senior official at the World Health Organization said earlier in the day. Greece takes measures to tackle medicine shortages Greece announced on Wednesday additional measures to deal with certain drug shortages, a problem it said was global and attributed to an increase in seasonal virus infections, supply chain issues, the energy crisis and reduced exports from Asia.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Omicron subvariants BA.5.2, BF.7 driving China's latest COVID outbreak - WHO

China's recent COVID-19 outbreak is predominantly led by the Omicron subvariants BA.5.2 and BF.7, which together account for 97.5% of all local infections, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The data was based on an analysis of more than 2,000 genomes by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the WHO said.

EU recommends pre-flight testing of passengers from China, wastewater testing in airports

European Union government officials recommended on Wednesday that passengers flying from China to the EU should have a negative COVID-19 test before they board, as Beijing plans to ease travel restrictions despite a wave of new COVID infections. The recommendation comes from the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR), which is a body made up of officials from the EU's 27 governments, and is in line with a recommendation made earlier by the European Commission.

China promises more medicines in rural areas amid COVID surge

China's cabinet said it will step up medicine distribution and meet the demand from medical institutions, nursing homes and rural areas, state media reported on Wednesday, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. China will also ensure ample supply of commodities on the market with stable prices during the upcoming Lunar New Year, state media quoted the cabinet as saying after a regular meeting.

Geron says blood cancer drug succeeds in late-stage study, shares surge

Geron Corp said on Wednesday its experimental drug helped more patients with a difficult-to-treat blood cancer achieve independence from routine transfusions in a late-stage trial, sending shares of the drug developer nearly 50% higher. The drug, imetelstat, was being studied in patients with types of lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which requires frequent blood transfusions for patients to manage their anemia, the company said.

China COVID data shows no new variant but under-reports deaths, WHO says

Data from China shows no new coronavirus variant has been found there, but it also under-represents how many people have died in the country's rapidly spreading outbreak, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday. Global unease has grown about the accuracy of China's reporting of an outbreak that has filled hospitals and overwhelmed some funeral homes since Beijing abruptly reversed its "zero COVID" policy.

Bird flu spreads in Czech Republic's largest outbreak

Czech authorities will destroy all 750,000 hens on a poultry farm at the centre of its worst outbreak of bird flu so far as the disease spread between halls. Bird flu was first detected last week at the farm, located 150 km (90 miles) west from Prague, in one of its three halls, and authorities on Tuesday had begun preparations to cull up to 220,000 birds.

U.S. FDA allows abortion pills to be sold at retail pharmacies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, the agency said on Tuesday, even as more states seek to ban medication abortion. The regulatory change will potentially expand abortion access as President Joe Biden's administration wrestles with how best to protect abortion rights after they were sharply curtailed by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling and the state bans that followed.

Biden says he was concerned at how China was handling COVID

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was concerned by how China was handling the COVID-19 pandemic. China's COVID-19 data is not giving an accurate picture of the situation there and under represents the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the disease, a senior official at the World Health Organization said earlier in the day.

Greece takes measures to tackle medicine shortages

Greece announced on Wednesday additional measures to deal with certain drug shortages, a problem it said was global and attributed to an increase in seasonal virus infections, supply chain issues, the energy crisis and reduced exports from Asia. Health Minister Thanos Plevris said that although Greece had enough supplies for now, the production of generic drugs in Greek factories would be increased and controls at pharmacy stores and big drug warehouses would take place to check if they have the reserves required under Greek law.

CARMAT says its Aeson artificial heart product will form part of French clinical study

French healthcare and medical technology company CARMAT said on Wednesday that its Aeson artificial heart product would be implemented within the framework of a clinical study in France known as 'EFICAS'. "EFICAS is the largest study undertaken by CARMAT at this stage, and I am delighted that it will entirely take place in France, thus enabling our country's patients to benefit from our therapy. This is a crucial study, as it will eventually notably allow us to obtain Aeson’s reimbursement in France," said CARMAT chief executive Stéphane Piat in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)