Health News Roundup: China records 3,278 COVID-related deaths between Jan 27 and Feb 2; South Africa records two imported cholera cases and more

The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under last year's Supreme Court's decision, jurors were wrongly instructed on how to determine whether Shakeel Kahn knowingly prescribed powerful drugs in an illegal manner. U.S. House plans vote to end foreign air traveler COVID vaccine mandate The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote next week on a bill that would end a requirement that most foreign air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19, Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

South Africa records two imported cholera cases

South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said on Sunday, as it called for vigilance. The cases were of sisters who had in January travelled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.

Doctor's opioid prescription conviction tossed after U.S. Supreme Court ruling

A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the conviction of a doctor accused of unlawfully prescribing addictive opioids in Arizona and Wyoming after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in his favor that made it harder to prosecute such cases. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under last year's Supreme Court's decision, jurors were wrongly instructed on how to determine whether Shakeel Kahn knowingly prescribed powerful drugs in an illegal manner.

U.S. House plans vote to end foreign air traveler COVID vaccine mandate

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote next week on a bill that would end a requirement that most foreign air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19, Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on Friday. The Biden administration in June dropped its requirement that people arriving in the country by air must test negative for COVID-19 but has not lifted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination requirements.

China records 3,278 COVID-related deaths between Jan 27 and Feb 2

China's COVID-related deaths between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2 this year in hospitals totaled 3,278, the country's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Saturday. Among them, 131 died of respiratory failure caused by the new coronavirus infection, and 3,147 died of other diseases combined with the infection, the CDC said.

(With inputs from agencies.)