Healthcare

Pfizer explores options for some rare disease, cancer drugs

Pfizer Inc is exploring options for some early-stage treatments for rare diseases and cancer in a bid to focus on "high-impact" medicines and vaccines, the company said on Thursday. The U.S.…

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FACTBOX: Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases there surged following its relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules. China has…

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India finds 11 Omicron subvariants of COVID-19 in international travellers

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - India detected a total of 11 variants of COVID-19 in international travellers who arrived in the country during Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, health…

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Sweden to require negative COVID tests for travelers from China

STOCKHOLM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Sweden will require travelers from China to show they have tested negative for COVID before they can enter the country, the Nordic country's government said…

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Germany to require rapid COVID-19 test for travellers from China

BERLIN, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Germany is changing its entry rules for travellers from China and will in future require at least a rapid coronavirus test to enter the country,…

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Biden raises concern over China’s COVID response after WHO questions data

WHO says China under-reporting hospital admissions, deaths Official data at odds with packed hospitals, morgues EU recommends border controls for China travellers Asian shares up on hopes China reopening stimulates…

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EU recommends pre-flight testing of passengers from China, wastewater testing in airports

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union government officials recommended on Wednesday that passengers flying from China to the EU should have a negative COVID-19 test before they board, as Beijing plans…

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Airline group IATA slams COVID restrictions on travellers from China

BERLIN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The head of the world's biggest airline trade body criticised travel restrictions against travellers from China in a statement published on Wednesday, arguing that such…

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China pledges ‘final victory’ over COVID as outbreak raises global alarm

Virus spreading fast in China after policy U-turn Several countries have imposed travel restrictions EU meets on Weds to discuss China travel policy WHO holds talks with Chinese scientists, seeks…

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FACTBOX: Countries impose COVID restrictions on Chinese travellers

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules.…

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EU to discuss coordinated response to China COVID situation on Wednesday

BRUSSELS, Jan 2 (Reuters) - European Union government health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the Swedish EU…

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Qatar to require all travelers from China to have a COVID test

(Reuters) - Qatar will from Tuesday require travellers arriving from China to provide a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 48 hours of departure, Qatar's state news agency QNA said…

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Morocco to ban arrivals from China over COVID surge

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco will impose a ban on people arriving from China, whatever their nationality, from Jan. 3 to avert any new wave of coronavirus infections, the foreign ministry…

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Some in China return to regular activity after COVID infections

By Josh Arslan and Martin Quin Pollard BEIJING/WUHAN, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Some people in China's key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in…

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France urges EU peers to test Chinese travellers for COVID

PARIS (Reuters) - France on Sunday urged European Union peers to test Chinese travellers for COVID after Paris decided to do so amid an outbreak sweeping the country. Only Italy…

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Xi calls for unity as China enters “new phase” of COVID policy

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for more effort and unity as the country enters a "new phase" in its approach to combating the…

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Over 40% of U.S. COVID cases caused by Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 – CDC

By Raghav Mahobe and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) - Over 40% of COVID-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the highly contagious Omicron XBB.1.5, data from the U.S.…

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FACTBOX: Authorities around the world imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China

(Reuters) - Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules. They cite…

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EU urges more checks for COVID variants given surge in China

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should consider immediately scaling up genomic sequencing of COVID-19 infections and monitoring of waste water, including from airports, to detect any new variants given…

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WHO urges China to share specific data regularly on COVID situation

(Reuters) - The World Health Organization once again urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as it continues to…

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China to drop COVID tests for inbound travellers from Jan 8

Dec 28 (Reuters) - China will drop a requirement for inbound travellers to take COVID-19 PCR tests starting from Jan 8, 2023, customs authorities said on Wednesday. PCR checks for…

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Japan marks record 415 COVID-19 deaths -health ministry

TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Japan on Wednesday recorded 415 COVID-19 deaths, the highest-ever count for a single day, health ministry data showed. The country counted 216,219 newly confirmed coronavirus…

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Chinese hospitals ‘extremely busy’ as COVID spreads unchecked

Hospitals report surge in COVID infections China reports three new COVID deaths for Tuesday Some countries consider travel rules for Chinese visitors By Martin Quin Pollard CHENGDU, Dec 28 (Reuters)…

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China to scrap COVID quarantine rule for inbound travellers

BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine starting from Jan. 8, the National Health Commission said on Monday in a major step towards easing curbs on its borders, which…

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China’s Zhejiang has 1 mln daily COVID cases, expected to double

By Bernard Orr and Roxanne Liu BEIJING, Dec 25 (Reuters) - China's Zhejiang, a big industrial province near Shanghai, is battling around a million new daily COVID-19 infections, a number expected to…

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India makes COVID test mandatory for arrivals from some countries, including China

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travelers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, the health minister said on Saturday.…

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Shanghai asks residents to stay in on Christmas as China COVID surges

SHANGHAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Shanghai authorities urged residents to stay at home this weekend, seeking a toned-down Christmas in the nation's most populous city as COVID-19 rages nationwide after tough curbs…

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China COVID deaths probably running above 5,000 per day – UK research firm Airfinity

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than 5,000 people are probably dying each day from COVID-19 in China, health data firm Airfinity estimated, offering a dramatic contrast to official data from Beijing…

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China’s stretched health system braces for peak in COVID infections

COVID infections may peak next week- Chinese health official China reports no new COVID deaths for 3rd day Overstretched health system braces for more severe cases By Bernard Orr and…

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India to test random 2% of international travellers for COVID

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - India will start randomly testing 2% of all international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19, the country's health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, told parliament on…

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WHO says China may be struggling to keep a tally of COVID cases

By Manas Mishra and Nandhini Srinivasan (Reuters) - China may be struggling to keep a tally of COVID-19 infections as the country experiences a big spike in cases, a senior…

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Shanghai hospital readies for ‘tragic battle’ with COVID

Shanghai hospital estimates 5.43 mln positives in city Several cities distributing free anti-fever drugs No COVID deaths for 2nd consecutive day, China says First mRNA vaccines to arrive in China…

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Drug price group slashes suggested price of Pfizer COVID treatment by 80%

Dec 20 (Reuters) - An influential drug pricing research group has cut its suggested price range for Pfizer Inc's PFE.NCOVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid by more than 80%, partly to reflect the decreased disease…

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COVID-19 still Spain’s leading cause of deaths this year

MADRID, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The number of deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic fell by almost a third in Spain in the first half of this year from a…

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China officially reports first COVID deaths in weeks as virus wave swells

By Liz Lee and Martin Quin Pollard BEIJING, Dec 19 (Reuters) - China officially reported on Monday its first COVID-related deaths since the government began dismantling strict anti-virus controls earlier…

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Medical staff in China’s hospitals say COVID-19 ripping through their ranks

By Farah Master and Julie Zhu HONG KONG (Reuters) - A growing number of China's doctors and nurses are catching COVID-19 and some have been asked to keep working, as…

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New COVID model predicts over 1 million deaths in China through 2023

CHICAGO (Reuters) - China's abrupt lifting of stringent COVID-19 restrictions could result in an explosion of cases and over a million deaths through 2023, according to new projections from the…

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China pushes vaccines as retreat from ‘zero-COVID’ turns messy

Beijing urges inoculations for elderly WHO calls for vaccine drive as virus spreads Economic summit starts amid more dire data By Brenda Goh and Albee Zhang BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 15 (Reuters)…

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China stops publishing asymptomatic COVID cases, reports no deaths

BEIJING, Dec 14 (Reuters) - China's National Health Commission (NHC) will as of Wednesday stop reporting new asymptomatic COVID-19 infections, as many people without symptoms no longer participate in testing,…

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Vaccine alliance CEO says ‘tough’ time to end COVID-19 emergency

GENEVA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The head of the GAVI global vaccine alliance suggested on Monday it was too early to call an end to the COVID-19 emergency, saying the pandemic could…

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EU watchdog warns on waning effectiveness of antibody COVID drugs

(Reuters) - The European Union's health regulator raised concerns over the decreasing effectiveness of COVID-19 antibody therapies to treat patients as emerging virus variants are challenging treatment approaches. The World…

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China’s capital swings from anger over zero-COVID to coping with infections

BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Beijing's COVID-19 gloom deepened on Sunday with many shops and other businesses closed, and an expert warned of many thousands of new coronavirus cases as…

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‘It’s dead out here’: China’s slow exit from zero-COVID

Beijing eased curbs in major policy shift on Wednesday Change came after historic protests last month HSBC CEO hails new rules as "meaningful progress" Analysts say virus spike will hurt…

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French health authority advises against use of Valneva’s COVID-19 vaccine

By Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Tassilo Hummel PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - France's Haute Autorite de Sante public health body advised the government not to use Valneva's VLA2001 COVID-19 vaccine as…

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‘Too many positives!’: As China rows back ‘zero-COVID’ policy, virus fears spread

Biggest relaxation of curbs since pandemic began Cities urge citizens to stay vigilant Analysts say China ill-prepared for big spike in cases By Bernard Orr and Ella Cao BEIJING, Dec…

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EY sees other Big Four firms mirroring its proposed split

Splitting EY into separate accounting and consultancy businesses will help pay rising technology bills and "inevitably" be copied by rival "Big Four" firms, a top EY official told a Reuters…

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Pfizer applies for FDA authorization for Omicron vaccine booster in kids under 5

Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Monday they have submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization of their…

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WHO estimates 90% of world have some resistance to Covid

The World Health Organization estimates that 90% of the world population now has some resistance to Covid-19, but warned that a troubling new variant could still emerge. Gaps in vigilance…

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China’s Xi told EU less lethal Omicron opens way for fewer COVID restrictions

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping blamed mass protests in Chinese cities on youth frustrated by years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but said the now dominant Omicron variant of…

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Chinese cities ease COVID curbs as virus keeps spreading

By Martin Quin Pollard and David Kirton BEIJING, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Some communities in Chinese cities where COVID-19 is still spreading are easing off on testing requirements and quarantine…

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Blank sheets of paper become symbol of defiance in China protests

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Chinese protesters have turned to blank sheets of paper to express their anger over COVID-19 restrictions in a rare, widespread outpouring of public dissent that…

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Fauci does not exclude possibility of Covid lab leak

Anthony Fauci, the retiring top official in the United States response to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Sunday he has “a completely open mind” about the origins of the respiratory virus.…

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China reports third consecutive daily record for new COVID cases

BEIJING, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China reported 35,183 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 25, of which 3,474 were symptomatic and 31,709 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday, setting a…

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China reports 24,473 new COVID cases; some Beijing businesses shut

SHANGHAI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - China reported a slight decline in new COVID-19 cases on Saturday as numerous cities across the country battled outbreaks and restaurants and many other businesses…

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EU agency says COVID pandemic led to surge in superbug infections

(Reuters) - Infections from some antibiotic-resistant pathogens known as superbugs have more than doubled in health care facilities in Europe, an EU agency said, providing further evidence of the wider…

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Moderna’s Omicron shots shows better immune response than original COVID vaccine

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc said on Monday its Omicron-tailored vaccines produced a better immune response against the BA.4/5 subvariants in a mid-to-late stage study, when given as a…

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Chinese cities including Beijing report record COVID cases

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Beijing and several other major cities in China reported record COVID-19 infections on Monday, putting authorities under more pressure to quell outbreaks quickly while also…

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