Health News Roundup: German expats in China receive first foreign COVID vaccines; Africa CDC says Uganda's Ebola outbreak is coming under control and more

Under an agreement reached during a visit to Beijing by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November, Germans aged 12 and older may receive their first dose or a booster of the BioNTech vaccine at a designated international hospital in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Guangzhou or Chengdu. Africa CDC says Uganda's Ebola outbreak is coming under control Africa's top public health body said on Thursday that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was coming under control, as it had been 39 days since the last confirmed case of the virus had been reported in the country.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Explainer-What do we know about COVID variant XBB.1.5?

The Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, is causing concern among scientists after its rapid spread in the United States in December. Here is what we know so far:

U.S. new drug price exceeds $200,000 median in 2022

After setting record-high U.S. prices in the first half of 2022, drugmakers continued to launch medicines at high prices in the second half, a Reuters analysis has found, highlighting their power despite new legislation to lower costs for older prescription products. The median annual price of the 17 novel drugs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved since July 2022 is $193,900, down from $257,000 in the first half of 2022, Reuters found. For full year 2022, the median was $222,003.

Greece to require negative COVID tests for travellers from China

Air travellers to Greece from China must show they have tested negative for COVID-19 48 hours before arrival, a new requirement that will be announced shortly, two government officials said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR) recommended that member states introduce restrictions. Its decisions are usually published within days but Friday is a public holiday in Greece.

China's CanSino reports 'positive' interim data from COVID mRNA booster trial

China's CanSino Biologics Inc reported on Thursday "positive" interim data from its experimental COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine in a mid-stage clinical trial, as the country races to tame a severe outbreak of infections. Infections have spiralled since China abandoned its strict "zero COVID" policy last month after protests against tight restrictions placed on its citizens.

China defends its COVID response after WHO, Biden concerns

China defended on Thursday its handling of its raging COVID-19 outbreak after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced concern and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Beijing was under-reporting virus deaths. The WHO's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Wednesday that Chinese officials were under-representing data on several fronts, some of the U.N. agency's most critical remarks to date.

German expats in China receive first foreign COVID vaccines

Germans living in China began receiving the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, the first such rollout of a foreign coronavirus vaccine in a country that has not otherwise approved the use of non-Chinese vaccines even as infections soar. Under an agreement reached during a visit to Beijing by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November, Germans aged 12 and older may receive their first dose or a booster of the BioNTech vaccine at a designated international hospital in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Guangzhou or Chengdu.

Africa CDC says Uganda's Ebola outbreak is coming under control

Africa's top public health body said on Thursday that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was coming under control, as it had been 39 days since the last confirmed case of the virus had been reported in the country. Officials first confirmed the outbreak in September and said it was the Sudan strain of the disease, for which there is no proven vaccine.

Doctors' 'pill mill' convictions partially tossed after U.S. Supreme Court ruling

A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned key parts of the convictions of two Alabama doctors accused of running a massive "pill mill" after the U.S. Supreme Court in June made it harder to prosecute physicians for illegally prescribing addictive drugs like opioids. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Xiulu Ruan and John Couch for unlawfully dispensing controlled substances after finding that under a Supreme Court ruling in June in Ruan's case, jurors were wrongly instructed on how to determine their guilt.

Gaza says Israel not allowing in enough X-ray machines for medical care

Gaza's Health Ministry accused Israel on Thursday of delaying the entry of several X-ray machines needed to treat patients in the blockaded Palestinian territory. The ministry, run by the Gaza Strip's ruling Islamist group Hamas, said requests in the past 14 months for eight different types of X-ray machines and spare parts to repair existing equipment had been rejected or delayed.

Afghan hospital wards fill with children suffering from pneumonia

In a bitterly cold bedroom at the start of winter in Kabul, 22-year Maryam sat with her baby son bundled up in a red jumper as he coughed days after being discharged for the third time from a hospital ward for suspected pneumonia. Every time 10-month old Rahmat's parents bring him home from the crowded, but warmer hospital, they say he gets sick again. The parents said they spend whatever they can from their shrinking income to trying to heat the room, which drops below freezing at night.

(With inputs from agencies.)