Reuters Health News Summary

Shares of the medical device maker rose 1.5% in afternoon trading. US FDA allows new claim that yogurt may reduce diabetes risk The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it would allow yogurt makers to say that the dairy product may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes as more Americans die from the disease and take medications like Ozempic to battle it.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

South Korea publicly orders some doctors who walked off the job back to work

South Korea's government late on Friday publicly ordered 13 doctors, at least some of whom have been vocal about a walkout by roughly 9,000 physicians over a health system reform plan, to return to work or face penalties. The public legal notice is the latest sign of the South Korean government's continued hardline stance toward trainee doctors participating in the walkout or criticising the reform plan, after local police raided officials of a doctor's association on Friday, a public holiday in South Korea.

US judge upholds Medicare drug price negotiation program

A federal judge in Delaware on Friday upheld a law that requires some drugmakers to negotiate prices with the U.S government's Medicare health insurance program, rejecting a challenge by AstraZeneca to one of Democratic President Joe Biden's signature initiatives. U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly's decision comes the day before the British drugmaker is due to respond to the U.S. government's initial bid for the price of its blockbuster diabetes drug Farxiga.

Thailand plans to legalise surrogacy for foreign couples

Thailand is amending a law to allow foreign couples to seek surrogacy services in the country, a senior health official said on Friday. In 2015, Thailand introduced tough regulations to control surrogacy and banned the process for foreign couples after several high profile scandals that led to a crackdown on the country's unregulated "wombs for hire" industry.

CVS, Walgreens to begin selling abortion pill this month

CVS and Walgreens, the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, will start selling abortion pill mifepristone at stores in several states this month, drawing praise from President Joe Biden who has made access to abortion a key election campaign issue. The announcement Friday comes as a legal challenge to the pill, brought in Texas by anti-abortion groups and doctors, was due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. The court ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion in 2022 when it overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent.

WHO says Gaza health system in Gaza 'more than on its knees'

People in the Gaza Strip are risking their lives to find food, water and other supplies such is the level of hunger and despair amid the unrelenting Israeli assault, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. "The system in Gaza is on its knees, it's more than on its knees," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. "All the lifelines in Gaza have more or less been cut."

More than a billion people worldwide are obese, WHO study finds

More than a billion people globally are now considered obese, a condition linked to an increased risk of numerous serious health problems, according to updated estimates from the World Health Organization and an international group of researchers. Obesity is so prevalent it has become more common than being underweight in most nations, including many low and-middle income countries that have previously struggled with undernourishment.

FDA approves J&J's combination therapy for a type of lung cancer

The U.S. health regulator on Friday approved Johnson & Johnson's therapy in combination with other chemotherapies for the first-line treatment of a type of lung cancer. The Food and Drug Administration approved the combination therapy of J&J's Rybrevant with carboplatin and pemetrexed for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a type of mutation in EGFR protein that causes rapid tumor cell growth.

US FDA approves Boston Scientific's drug-coated heart device

Boston Scientific said on Friday the U.S. FDA had approved its drug-coated device to treat a complication arising from implanting a stent in the heart. Shares of the medical device maker rose 1.5% in afternoon trading.

US FDA allows new claim that yogurt may reduce diabetes risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it would allow yogurt makers to say that the dairy product may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes as more Americans die from the disease and take medications like Ozempic to battle it. The FDA will permit dairy companies to say that eating yogurt regularly - at least two cups or three servings per week - may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to limited scientific evidence, according to a letter posted on the regulator's website.

US CDC drops five-day COVID isolation guidelines

The U.S. CDC on Friday dropped its five-day COVID-19 isolation recommendations under a new guidance, instead suggesting that people return to normal activities if symptoms improve and they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without needing medicines. The guidelines had not been updated since December 2021, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases to five days from 10 days.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)