Health News Roundup: Maiden Pharma hopes to reopen plant as Indian lab clears syrups suspected by WHO in Gambia deaths; Biden administration offers U.S. households more free COVID-19 tests for winter and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Maiden Pharma hopes to reopen plant as Indian lab clears syrups suspected by WHO in Gambia deaths

Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd said on Friday it will seek clearance to re-open its factory after an Indian government laboratory found nothing wrong in samples taken from syrups that the World Health Organisation had suspected of being linked to children's deaths in Gambia. "I have full faith in Indian regulatory and judiciary processes. I have not done anything wrong," Maiden Managing Director Naresh Kumar Goyal told Reuters.

Biden administration offers U.S. households more free COVID-19 tests for winter

U.S. households can order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the government website COVIDTests.gov beginning on Thursday as part of the Biden administration's efforts to tackle coronavirus infections over the winter. The White House said it would use existing funding to pay for the tests since it has been unsuccessful so far in getting Congress to pass a bill to put more money toward the U.S. COVID-19 response.

We've run out of cholera vaccines, WHO official says as disease surges

The global stockpile of cholera vaccines the World Health Organization helps manage is "currently empty or extremely low", a WHO official said on Friday amid a resurgence of the disease around the world. The U.N. health agency says global fatality rates are rising and there are around 30 countries around the world that have reported cholera outbreaks this year, about a third higher than in a typical year.

EU regulator backs gene therapy to treat rare bleeding disorder

The European Union's health regulator on Friday said it had recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for a gene therapy by Australian drugmaker CSL Ltd and partner uniQure N.V., to treat haemophilia B, a rare bleeding disorder which is caused by genetic anomalies. About one in 40,000 people are affected by the inherited disorder, caused by a gene mutation that hampers the body's ability to make clotting protein factor IX.

Journalists' COVID deaths reported amid fears of Lunar New Year virus spread

Two veteran Chinese state media journalists have died from COVID-19 in the capital Beijing in recent days, media said on Friday, among the first reported deaths since the government abandoned its strict "zero-COVID" policy of curbs and lockdowns.

Yang Lianghua, 74, a former People's Daily reporter, died on Thursday, while Zhou Zhichun, 77, a former China Youth Daily editor, died a week earlier, financial magazine Caixin said, citing their families.

China to 'optimise' epidemic control policies in 2023 - state media

China will "optimise" and "adjust" its epidemic prevention and control policies next year, state media reported on Friday, after the conclusion of the annual Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing attended by China's top leaders. China will strengthen overall coordination of epidemic policies and implement them in an orderly manner, ensuring the "transition" during the current epidemic is smooth and social order is stable, state media reported in its readout of the conference.

AbbVie to leave leading U.S. drug industry trade group

AbbVie Inc is leaving Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the leading U.S. drug industry group said on Thursday. Politico, which first reported on AbbVie's exit, said the drugmaker was also leaving the industry group Biotechnology Innovation Organization as well as Business Roundtable, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

Hong Kong says people over 18 can choose to receive 5th COVID jab

Hong Kong's government said on Friday that people 18 and older could choose to get a fifth COVID-19 vaccine to help better protect against the virus as the city has seen a steady increase in infections in recent months.

Cancer researchers question antitrust arguments against Illumina-Grail deal

U.S. and European antitrust enforcers want to unwind gene sequencing leader Illumina Inc's purchase of cancer test company Grail, saying the two would stifle competition in a critical area of medicine, but some cancer researchers say it's far too early to make that assessment. Illumina is the leading maker of high-speed genomic sequencing systems that can examine fragments of DNA found in blood or other samples for use in everything from solving crimes to drug research.

Philadelphia schools will require masks as U.S. COVID cases spike

Public school students in Philadelphia will have to wear face coverings at school for 10 days after their winter break, officials said, as communities around the country contend with another surge of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. The mandate, which will run from Jan. 3-13, is aimed at reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses after a holiday season likely filled with more social gatherings and increased exposure, the school district said in a statement on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies.)