Tag: COVID-19 Pandemic

WHO Wants China to Report More COVID Data

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The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is calling on China to provide more information about its surge in COVID-19 cases. “WHO still believes that deaths are heavily underreported from China, and this is in relation to the definitions that are used but also to the need for doctors and those reporting in the public health system to be encouraged to report these cases and not discouraged,” Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies director, told reporters. Ryan did praise China’s efforts to increase the number of designated beds in intensive care units…

China Touts New Drug for Alleviating COVID-19 Now Undergoing Trials

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Beijing is touting a promising new drug, VV116, as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide after the abrupt end to its “zero-COVID” policy. Described as “superior goods of Chinese provenance” in government-affiliated media reports, a phase 3 comparative clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the oral antiviral agent VV116 is as effective as Paxlovid at curbing mild to moderate illness among people at high risk of severe disease caused by COVID-19 with even lower incidence of adverse effects. Paxlovid is an antiviral drug produced by Pfizer that…

Thailand Reverses New COVID Vaccine Rules for Visitors

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BANGKOK —  Thailand has withdrawn its decision to request COVID-19 vaccine proof from visitors — only days after announcing new rules for all international arrivals. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand on Saturday announced new rules for all international travelers since China dropped its mandatory quarantine requirements and reopened its borders following three years of a strict zero-COVID policy. But Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s health minister, said a panel of health experts agreed to withdraw the new rule because global immunization of the virus was sufficient and that checking for “proof…

Paxlovid Not on ‘Approved Drug List’ for China’s Health Insurance

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Beijing —  China will not include Pfizer Inc’s Paxlovid in an update to its list of medicines covered by basic medical insurance schemes as the U.S. firm quoted a high price for the COVID-19 drug, China’s Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said Sunday. The COVID-19 antiviral drug is currently covered by the country’s broad health care insurance scheme under temporary measures the regulator introduced in March last year as outbreaks rose. But authorities held talks with Pfizer in recent days to decide whether to include it in the latest version of…

China Ends Quarantine for Overseas Travelers

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BEIJING —  China lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travelers Sunday, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation even as the country battles a surge in COVID cases. The first people to arrive expressed relief at not having to undergo the grueling quarantines that were a fixture of life in zero-COVID China. And in Hong Kong, where the border with mainland China was reopened after years of closure, more than 400,000 people were set to travel north in the coming eight weeks. Beijing last month began a dramatic dismantling of a…

China’s ‘Great Migration’ Kicks Off Under Shadow of COVID

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SHANGHAI —  China on Saturday marked the first day of “chun yun,” the 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel known pre-pandemic as the world’s largest annual migration of people, bracing for a huge increase in travelers and the spread of COVID-19 infections. This Lunar New Year public holiday, which officially begins January 21, will be the first since 2020 without domestic travel restrictions. Over the last month China has seen the dramatic dismantling of its “zero-COVID” regime following historic protests against a policy that included frequent testing, restricted movement,…

Patrons Rush to Hong Kong Pharmacies Before China Border Reopens Amid COVID Surge 

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hong kong —  Hong Kongers, worried about the possible influx of mutant strains of COVID-19 when the border with China reopens this weekend, have laid bare pharmacy shelves once stocked with nonprescription drugs for alleviating symptoms. The panic purchasing of medicines prior to the Sunday reopening has prompted many pharmacies to impose quotas on the purchase of over-the-counter medicines for cold and fever, pain relief and diarrhea. The situation in Hong Kong mirrors that in China, where authorities are urging pharmacies to sell these drugs in smaller packages so more…

China Says COVID-19 Situation Is ‘Predictable, Under Control’ 

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China’s foreign ministry pushed back Friday against international reactions and criticism regarding its recent surge in COVID-19 cases, saying the situation was “predictable and under control.” There has been growing international concern about China’s COVID surge, which followed the government’s move last month to suddenly lift pandemic restrictions that had been among the strictest in the world. The United States this week joined Britain, France, Canada, South Korea, Spain and Qatar in imposing requirements on travelers from China to show recent negative COVID tests before being allowed to enter. European…

China’s Reports ‘Positive’ Interim Data from COVID mRNA Booster Trial

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hong kong/London —  China’s CanSino Biologics 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 soared since China abandoned its strict “zero-COVID” policy last month after protests over tight restrictions placed on its citizens. The CanSino booster vaccine is one of China’s first home-grown potential vaccines based on mRNA technology. The 433-person trial of those aged 18 and above tested a booster shot of the vaccine, called CS-2034,…

As COVID Surges in China, US Begins Testing More Travelers

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Newark, New Jersey —  Shubham Chandra knows how dangerous the coronavirus can be: He lost his dad during the pandemic. So when he cleared customs at Newark Liberty International Airport and saw people offering anonymous COVID-19 testing, he was happy to volunteer. “It’s a minimum amount of effort to help a lot of people,” said the 27-year-old New York City man, who had just stepped off a plane from Cancun, Mexico. The airport testing is part of the government’s early warning system for detecting new variants, which began expanding recently…