Health News Roundup: Hong Kong reports 1,347 COVID cases as healthcare system overwhelmed; Merck Japan says to accelerate imports of COVID-19 treatment and more

The surge has pushed daily cases to records, but widespread vaccination, with first booster shots received by more than 57 percent of the population of 52 million, has helped limit deaths and serious infections. Germans pin hopes on Novavax moving the needle among anti-vaxxers Benedikt Richter, a 40-year-old teacher in the southwest German city of Kaiserslautern, long held out against getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Hong Kong reports 1,347 COVID cases as healthcare system overwhelmed

Hong Kong reported 1,347 new daily COVID-19 infections on Sunday, down from the previous day's record, but the spread, with 2,000 more suspected cases, threatens the city's overstretched healthcare system, authorities said. The surge in coronavirus cases, the biggest test yet for Hong Kong's "dynamic zero-COVID" strategy, comes a day after the government said China would help the city with testing, treatment and quarantine capacity.

Merck Japan says to accelerate imports of COVID-19 treatment

The Japanese unit of Merck & Co Inc said on Monday it would accelerate imports of its oral COVID-19 treatment to help with a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant. The company will deliver 800,000 courses of the antiviral molnupiravir to Japan by March, up from an earlier scheduled 600,000, it said in a statement.

S.Korea to start giving fourth doses of COVID vaccine by month-end

South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of February and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday. The surge has pushed daily cases to records, but widespread vaccination, with first booster shots received by more than 57 percent of the population of 52 million, has helped limit deaths and serious infections.

Germans pin hopes on Novavax moving the needle among anti-vaxxers

Benedikt Richter, a 40-year-old teacher in the southwest German city of Kaiserslautern, long-held out against getting vaccinated against COVID-19. He felt uneasy about the novelty of the mRNA technology used in two of the most commonly administered shots. It did not help that his sister-in-law was hospitalized with heart muscle inflammation a day after receiving her second shot, which doctors officially linked to her vaccine, Richter said. Regulators have acknowledged such conditions as a rare and mostly mild side-effect.

Hong Kong leader says fifth COVID wave has 'overwhelmed' city's capacity

Hong Kong is being overwhelmed by the "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections, its leader said on Monday, although deaths in the Chinese-controlled global financial hub remain far less than similar-sized cities since the pandemic erupted two years ago. Daily infections have multiplied 13 times over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February to over 1,300 on Feb. 13, with authorities scrambling to control the deepening outbreak.

Singapore grants interim approval for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine

Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said on Monday it has granted an interim authorization for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine. The first batch of the Nuvaxovid vaccine is expected to arrive in Singapore in the next few months, the HSA said.

New Zealand's Ardern labels anti-vaccine mandate protests 'imported' as crowds defy calls to leave

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported" phenomenon, and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country. Hundreds of protesters continue to occupy lawns in front of the distinctive 'Beehive' parliament for a seventh day, ignoring repeated calls by the police to leave and unflawed by drenching rain over the weekend.

China approves use of Pfizer's COVID drug Paxlovid

China's medical products regulator said on Saturday it has given conditional approval for Pfizer's COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country. The National Medical Products Administration said Paxlovid is approved to treat adults who have mild to moderate COVID-19 and high risk of progressing to a severe condition. Further study on the drug needed to be conducted and submitted to the authority, it said.

Vietnam to end COVID curbs on international flights from Feb 15

Vietnam will remove its COVID-19 restrictions on international passenger flights with all markets starting Feb. 15, with no limitation on the number of flights, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Sunday. The Southeast Asian country imposed tight border controls at the start of the pandemic to keep out COVID-19, with some initial success, but that dealt a blow to its burgeoning tourism sector which accounted for about 10% of gross domestic product.

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