Health

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on January 20 that Japan may explore lowering COVID-19 to a less severe infectious illness and reducing its suggestion that people wear masks in public indoor locations as early as this spring. After meeting with relevant ministers, Kishida told the media that he had asked them to study the particular parameters for reclassifying COVID-19 into …

Chinese drugmakers scrambled to produce anti-fever medications and other COVID-19 therapies on Thursday, January 19, after President Xi Jinping expressed concern over the flow of holiday tourists to rural regions unable to deal with surprise outbreaks. Xi’s remarks came little over a month after his administration unexpectedly scrapped his “zero-COVID” rules, which had mainly protected China’s 1.4 billion people from …

Several children were reportedly injured after swallowing a snack containing liquid nitrogen, prompting the Indonesian government to encourage local health officials to monitor food facilities and to advise parents to be more attentive. The snack, sometimes known as “dragon’s breath” and known locally as chiki ngebul, is a form of colorful candy covered with liquid nitrogen mist. Recently, youngsters have …

China’s abrupt shift away from a zero-COVID plan in December 2022 makes its reopening one of the year’s most significant economic developments. In the context of escalating economic and social costs involved with maintaining rigorous containment measures, it has occurred quicker and earlier than analysts predicted. On the expectation that Chinese consumers will unleash their pent-up demand, reopening has fuelled …

People in China are resuming travel before to the Lunar New Year, despite concerns about infections, after Beijing lifted COVID-19 restrictions last month, with air passenger volumes rebounding to 63% of 2019 levels since the beginning of the annual travel season. China’s chief of the Civil Aviation Administration, Song Zhiyong, stated that the rapid economic recovery is putting pressure on …

US federal health experts ruled on Friday (Jan 13) that a relationship between Pfizer’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine and an elevated risk of strokes in those aged 65 and older is “very implausible” and not supported by extensive examination. A preliminary safety issue found by one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) monitoring systems prompted the CDC to …

Unlike other children his age, Kai (not his real name) spent little time playing with other children. Sometimes he would inform his mother that he had no pals at school. “I have been referred to as ‘fatty’ and ‘chubby’ by peers. It made me feel different from them, therefore I rarely interacted with or played with them,” he explained. Kai …

According to a leading Chinese epidemiologist, the peak of China’s COVID-19 wave is predicted to last two to three months and will rapidly spread over the vast countryside, where medical services are rather few. Hundreds of millions are anticipated to return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year celebrations, which formally begin on January 21. Prior to the epidemic, …

Pfizer Inc is not in discussions with Chinese authorities to license a generic version of its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid for use in China, according to the company’s chief executive, Albert Bourla, on Monday, January 9. However, the company is in discussions about the price of the branded product, he said. Reuters reported on Friday that China was in negotiations with …

The Chinese embassy in South Korea has banned the issuance of short-term visas to South Korean tourists, the embassy said on Tuesday, January 10. This is the first act of retaliation against states that have imposed COVID-19 restrictions on Chinese passengers. The embassy would modify its stance if South Korea removes “discriminatory entrance restrictions” against China, according to a statement …