Reuters Health

• CDC Still Looking at Potential Stroke Risk From Pfizer Bivalent COVID Shot New data from one CDC database shows a possible stroke risk link for older adults who received an updated Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot, but the signal is weaker than what the agency had flagged earlier in January, health officials said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 26, 2023
• FDA Pulls Authorization for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Treatment Evusheld The US health regulator has withdrawn emergency-use authorization for AstraZeneca's (COVID-19 antibody cocktail Evusheld as the treatment is not expected to neutralize the currently dominant XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
  Reuters Health Information, January 26, 2023
• Roche Launches New Test to Detect Fast Spreading Omicron Subvariant Roche has launched a new PCR test to detect a fast-spreading subvariant of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 26, 2023
• Cholera Death Toll Passes 1000 in Malawi as Outbreak Spreads The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Malawi has passed 1000 while cases have risen to 30,621, the highest on record in the country, Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda said on Wednesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• Bulgaria to Cull 25,000 Quails to Contain Flu Outbreak Bulgaria will begin culling about 25,000 quails and destroy quail eggs on an industrial farm near the capital Sofia after detecting a highly infectious strain of bird flu, the food safety authorities said on Wednesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• China Says COVID Deaths, Severe Cases Have Fallen Over 70% Since Peak Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• US Signs Up Over 16 Million People for Obamacare Health Insurance More than 16 million Americans signed up for Obamacare health insurance for 2023, a jump of more than 12% over last year and the highest since the Affordable Care Act was signed 13 years ago, the US government said on Wednesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• Trudeau to Hold Health Care Meeting With Premiers of Canadian Provinces Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday he had invited the premiers from all provinces to meet in Ottawa on February 7 to discuss a plan to provide health care funding for provinces, as hospitals remain strained by long wait times made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• FDA Joins Global Regulators Probing Tainted Overseas Cough Syrup The FDA said on Wednesday it is working with WHO and foreign regulatory authorities to support an investigation into the source of contaminated cough syrups that have killed more than 300 children in Africa and Asia.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• Eli Lilly to Invest $450 Million More to Expand Capacity as Obesity Drug Decision Looms Eli Lilly plans to invest an additional $450 million to expand capacity of a plant in North Carolina, the US drugmaker said on Tuesday, as it races to boost production ahead of a decision on its promising obesity treatment.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• Amazon Deepens Healthcare Push With $5 Monthly Subscription Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it is offering a $5 monthly subscription plan for US Prime members that will cover a range of generic drugs and their doorstep delivery, furthering the ecommerce giant's push into healthcare.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• EU Must Do More to Tackle Antibiotic Shortages, Say Patient Groups The European Union's drug regulator needs to do more to tackle shortages of some widely used antibiotics in the region, according to a letter from a group of European patient and consumer organizations reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• Russia's Putin Says Stockpile Needed to Curb Drug Shortages President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that there were shortages of some medicines in Russia, despite the country producing more of its own drugs, and suggested building up stocks of popular medicines to help meet demand.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• North Korea Locks Down Capital City Over 'Respiratory Illness' Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a 5-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, the Russian embassy and Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.
  Reuters Health Information, January 25, 2023
• CDC Chief to Create New Offices to Boost Public Health Response CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is creating new offices as part of the agency's revamp to prioritize public health response.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• FDA Proposes Limits on Lead in Processed Baby Food The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday proposed significant limits on levels of lead in processed baby food that could reduce exposure to the contaminant by as much as 27%.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• Consumer Reports Urges Dark Chocolate Makers to Reduce Lead, Cadmium Levels Consumer Reports on Monday urged four chocolate producers to commit by Valentine's Day to reduce the amounts of lead and cadmium in their dark chocolate products, after testing revealed harmful levels of the heavy metals.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2023
• EU to Aggregate Cancer Imaging Data Across Bloc in New Project The European Union on Monday launched a project to collect and aggregate cancer imaging data in an effort to speed up innovation and early cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence.
  Reuters Health Information, January 23, 2023
• French Artificial Heart Maker Carmat Targets Breakeven in 2027 French artificial heart maker Carmat expects to breakeven in 2027, it said on Monday, as it gradually resumes implants and faces strong demand in Europe ahead of its commercial launch in the United States.
  Reuters Health Information, January 23, 2023
• WHO Urges 'immediate Action' After Cough Syrup Deaths The World Health Organization has called for 'immediate and concerted action' to protect children from contaminated medicines after a spate of child deaths linked to cough syrups last year.
  Reuters Health Information, January 23, 2023