Health News Roundup: Some Canadian hospitals face COVID cancellations - again; Shanghai doubles down on strict lockdown enforcement in COVID fight and more

The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening U.S. opioid crisis, which fueled more than an estimated 106,854 drug overdose deaths in the year to November 2021, a 15.6% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders The United States government said on Thursday it was extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Some Canadian hospitals face COVID cancellations - again

Some hospitals in Canada's most populous provinces are canceling or postponing medical procedures in the face of another wave of the coronavirus pandemic, increasing backlogs of procedures that health practitioners say will take years to work through and could cost more lives. There are some signs the sixth COVID-19 wave may be peaking in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. But hospitals are facing a double whammy of new COVID infections and, to a much greater degree, health workers off sick or isolating due to COVID just as some had begun to tackle pandemic backlogs.

Shanghai doubles down on strict lockdown enforcement in COVID fight

Shanghai authorities doubled down on their offensive against COVID-19 on Friday, launching a new round of city-wide testing and warning residents their three-week lockdown would only be lifted in batches once the transmission is stamped out. The Shanghai government said on its official WeChat account, that the city's epidemic was showing a "positive trend" and that life in the city could return to normal soon as long as people stuck to strict rules to curb the spread of COVID-19.

CureVac, GSK's experimental COVID variant vaccine effective in mice -study

CureVac and GSK's second-generation vaccine candidate targeting two recent COVID-19 variants has been shown to be highly effective in preclinical studies on mice, CureVac said, as it seeks to catch up with rivals' development work. A study in mice showed that the bivalent vaccine candidate, designed to address the Beta and Delta variants of the coronavirus, elicited neutralizing antibody levels that were comparable to the monovalent vaccine candidates targeting only one of the variants.

U.S. warns doctors to look for hepatitis in children as probe widens

U.S. health officials have sent out a nationwide alert warning doctor to be on the lookout for symptoms of pediatric hepatitis, possibly linked with a cold virus, as part of a wider probe into unexplained cases of severe liver inflammation in young children. The warning follows investigations in the United States and Europe of clusters of hepatitis in young children.

Biden to unveil new U.S. drug addiction and overdose strategy

U.S. President Joe Biden will unveil a new strategy for dealing with drug addiction and overdoses on Thursday that aims to expand access to medications for opioid overdoses, increase funding for law enforcement, and expand sanctions against traffickers. The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening U.S. opioid crisis, which fueled more than an estimated 106,854 drug overdose deaths in the year to November 2021, a 15.6% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders

The United States government said on Thursday it was extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most visitors since March 2020. The vaccination requirements had been set to expire on Thursday https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/24/2022-01403/notification-of-temporary-travel-restrictions-applicable-to-land-ports-of-entry-and-ferries-service unless they were extended.

G20 agrees to set up global pandemic preparedness fund

G20 countries have provisionally agreed to set up a global fund for pandemic preparedness, likely to be housed at the World Bank. The US and Indonesia have been pushing for the establishment of such a fund to help the world be better prepared to tackle future pandemics, but others have been concerned the fund could weaken the World Health Organization or other global health mechanisms.

Philadelphia to end indoor mask mandate days after imposing it

Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, health officials said late on Thursday, reversing its decision just days after imposing the order. The Board of Health (BOH) voted on Thursday to end the mandate, the Philadelphia health department said.

U.S. child vaccination rates dip during a pandemic -study

Child vaccination rates in the United States fell during the COVID-19 pandemic as many children skipped doctors appointments and states eased vaccine requirements during remote learning, according to a government study released on Thursday. During the 2020–21 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners nationwide for three required vaccines was approximately 1% lower than the previous school year, according to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

WHO backs Pfizer's oral COVID therapy for high-risk patients?

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday endorsed the use of Pfizer Inc's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment in high-risk patients after an analysis of trial data by the U.N. agency showed the therapy dramatically cut the risk of hospitalization. The recommendation comes as thousands of people die of COVID-19 every week, despite a waning global infection rate. Of existing COVID-19 treatments, Pfizer's Paxlovid is by far the most potent, the WHO said.