Health News Roundup: In COVID China, a hospital bed can hinge on who you know, red packets; Increasing number of Turkey-Syria earthquake survivors show signs of PTSD and more

now more of the patients are coming with post-traumatic stress disorder, following all the shock that they've gone through during the earthquake and what they have seen," said Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari. In COVID China, a hospital bed can hinge on who you know, red packets Steven, a financier in his 40s, tested positive for COVID-19 in Beijing at the height of China's outbreak in December and felt fine until the eighth day, when his condition worsened.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Analysis-Biotech IPOs to bloom with spotlight on startups with human trial data

Initial public offerings by small private biotech companies are poised to stage a comeback later in 2023 as the pace of interest rate hikes slows, but tougher economic conditions will make investors more inclined to pick firms which have drugs in human trials. Globally, IPOs across all sectors nosedived last year after a blockbuster 2021, as aggressive interest rate hikes by central banks to curb inflation put an end to the era of cheap money.

Increasing number of Turkey-Syria earthquake survivors show signs of PTSD

Doctors in a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun said they are treating increasing numbers of patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks after last week's earthquake. "Initially the patients ... were those who sustained injuries under the rubble... now more of the patients are coming with post-traumatic stress disorder, following all the shock that they've gone through during the earthquake and what they have seen," said Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari.

In COVID China, a hospital bed can hinge on who you know, red packets

Steven, a financier in his 40s, tested positive for COVID-19 in Beijing at the height of China's outbreak in December and felt fine until the eighth day, when his condition worsened. His sister’s driver took him to a hospital. Barely able to walk and fighting for breath, he was told there were no beds. They drove to another; he was rejected again.

U.S. government to buy 1.5 million more Novavax COVID vaccine doses

The U.S. government has agreed to buy 1.5 million more doses of Novavax Inc COVID-19 vaccine, the company said on Monday, adding that the modified agreement includes funds for development of an updated vaccine by fall this year. Sales of the company's vaccine have been hurt by a global supply glut and waning demand, with Novavax cutting its full-year revenue forecast for the shots twice last year.

U.S. FDA declines to review Soligenix's cancer drug; shares sink

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declined to review Soligenix Inc's application seeking approval of its cancer treatment, the drug developer said on Tuesday, sending its shares down more than 30% in early trading. The application was rejected on grounds that it was insufficient to permit a review, and the company will work with the agency to clarify a path forward for the treatment.

Federal workers not entitled to COVID hazard pay -U.S. appeals court

A divided U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said federal workers are generally not entitled to extra pay for being exposed to COVID-19 through their jobs. In a 10-2 decision with potentially "far-reaching" ramifications, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against 188 current and former correctional employees at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.

India's Apollo Hospitals posts drop in Q3 profit as digital health business weighs

Indian healthcare group Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd reported a 33% drop in the third-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by weakness in its digital business. Consolidated net profit plunged to 1.53 billion rupees ($18.48 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, from 2.28 billion rupees, a year earlier, as total expenses surged about 22% to 40.12 billion rupees.

Cameroon detects two suspected cases of Marburg virus near Eq. Guinea

Cameroonian authorities detected two suspected cases of Marburg disease on Monday in Olamze, a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea, the public health delegate for the region, Robert Mathurin Bidjang, said on Tuesday. Equatorial Guinea officially declared its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, an illness similar to Ebola, on Monday.

Germany proposes to fix shortages in certain medicines

Germany's health ministry on Tuesday vowed to fix shortages in medicines for children, antibiotics and cancer drugs, proposing price increases for certain drugs, higher inventory levels and an early warning system. The proposed law for Europe's largest drugs market, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, was made available to stakeholders for consultation and is due to be put to government ministers and to a parliamentary vote at a later stage.

Judge indicates intention to dismiss J&J talc unit bankruptcy

The bankruptcy case filed by Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary shouldering talc-related lawsuits will soon be dismissed unless a U.S appeals court agrees to reconsider its decision to nix the company's attempt to offload the litigation into Chapter 11 proceedings, a federal judge said on Tuesday. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan said during a hearing in Trenton, New Jersey that he intends to toss the Chapter 11 case once the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues a formal mandate to carry out a Jan. 30 ruling by a three-judge panel to dismiss the matter.

(With inputs from agencies.)