The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it is withdrawing its emergency use authorization of a COVID-19 antibody therapy as a prevention tool because it is unlikely to be effective against variants that are currently circulating. Evusheld, which is made by British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, AstraZeneca, was first […]
COVID
Across China, folk remedies remain a popular, if unproven, COVID cure
Beijing – As COVID-19 rips through China’s vast population, making millions sick and fuelling a shortage of drugs, many are turning to old-school traditional medicines to battle the aches and pains of the virus. President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while […]
Rural China runs short of Covid drugs over lunar new year holiday
Wu, a 54-year-old retiree in China’s south-western Sichuan province, struggled to get hold of antiviral medication when her 92-year-old mother came down with Covid-19 this month. “By the time I realised my mother had Covid, it had been two days since she had eaten or drunk anything,” she said. Relatives […]
Chinese turn to traditional remedies to fight Covid
As Covid-19 rips through China’s vast population, making millions sick and fuelling a shortage of drugs, many are turning to old-school traditional medicines to battle the aches and pains of the virus. President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while health officials […]
Frustration is rising over Covid drug shortages in China, and there are no easy answers
Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN — As Jo Wang, an event planner in Beijing, […]
Covid surge exposes China’s healthcare gap
Many rural residents flock to cities for hospital care they cannot get at home Patients with Covid-19 lie in beds at Tangshan Gongren Hospital in the northeastern city of Tangshan on Dec 30. (Photo: AFP) TANGSHAN, China: Understaffed and underfunded clinics stand half-empty in parts of the Chinese countryside even […]
Chinese take risks on black-market Covid drugs
The current Covid wave has resulted in long lines outside pharmacies, as people struggle to find medication for family members infected with the virus. (AFP Photo) BEIJING: Desperate families searching for critical Covid-19 medication in China, faced with bare pharmacy shelves and an explosion of cases, are being driven into […]
COVID drug Paxlovid was hailed as a game-changer. What happened?
Tablets of Paxlovid, which reduces risk of severe COVID-19, are inspected by a laboratory technician.Credit: Thomas Hansmann/AP/Shutterstock When clinical trial data for the antiviral drug Paxlovid emerged in late 2021, physicians hailed its astonishing efficacy — a reduction of nearly 90% in the risk of severe COVID-19. But more than […]
A promising new Covid pill shows key advantages over Paxlovid in trial
A staff member sorts medicines at a pharmacy in Huai ‘an, China on Dec. 10, 2022. CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images A new antiviral pill for Covid was found to be as effective as Paxlovid at curbing mild to moderate illness among people at high risk of severe […]
How desperate Chinese are illegally procuring India-made meds amid COVID scare
As China grapples with a spike in COVID-19 infections, a shortage of antiviral drugs such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid has propelled people into turning to the black market. Besides Paxlovid, Azvudine — an HIV drug from Chinese firm Genuine Biotech — was approved by China as an antiviral for COVID-19 this […]
Beijing to distribute Pfizer’s drug as Covid ravages China
As COVID-19 cases in China continue to rise, Beijing will soon start distributing Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to the community health centres in forthcoming days, CNN reported citing state media on Monday. IMAGE: A man takes a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 at the entrance of a hospital in Shanghai. […]
China races to bolster health system as COVID surge sparks global concern
Authorities rush to add hospital beds, build fever clinics U.S. raises concerns over possibility of COVID mutations Beijing reports five more deaths on Tuesday Security tight at crematoriums amid doubts over death toll BEIJING/SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening […]
A New Drug Could Fight Both COVID and Cancer
The new drug may provide a new type of protection against COVID-19, one that will be effective even when new strains emerge. University of Southern California and the Cleveland Clinic Florida Research and Innovation Center researchers have published new research on GRP78, a protein implicated in both COVID-19 and numerous […]
China rushes to boost intensive care beds, doctors and stocks of medicine as Covid surges | China
Chinese authorities are rushing to boost the number of intensive care beds and health workers and increase medication supplies as Covid-19 surges through the country. Since the abrupt dismantling of the stringent zero-Covid regime, cases have skyrocketed in China. A full picture of the impact is difficult to gauge. Authorities […]
Biden administration funds study on how to train drug addicts to distribute COVID tests
The Biden administration will spend $1 million next year to fund a study on how to train drug addicts to distribute COVID-19 rapid tests to other drug addicts. The project summary emphasizes that “people who inject drugs” are especially vulnerable to the outbreak of COVID-19 due to “structural disadvantage, health […]
Potential New Treatment for “Brain Fog” in Long COVID Patients < Yale School of Medicine
Individuals with long COVID, sometimes referred to as “long-haulers,” experience symptoms that may persist for weeks, months, or even years after their acute viral infection. While symptoms vary widely, a common complaint among patients is “brain fog”—a colloquial term for significant, persistent cognitive deficits, with consistent impairment of executive functioning […]
As COVID Treatments Dwindle, Are New Ones Waiting in the Wings?
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. It was the last monoclonal antibody treatment standing. But less than 10 months after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave bebtelovimab its emergency use authorization (EUA) to fight COVID-19, it earlier this month de-authorized […]
Beijing running out of fever medication as Covid outbreak spreads
Beijing is running out of medical supplies as the Chinese capital combats a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak, health workers said, putting stress on limited resources just as authorities lift pandemic restrictions. Clinics designated for Covid-19 patients are quickly filling up and some hospitals in the city of 22mn people have […]
How a Cheap Liver Drug May Be the Key to Preventing COVID
Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I’m Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine. As soon as the pandemic started, the search was on for a medication that could stave off infection, or at least the worst consequences of […]
Drug that targets ACE2 receptors may work against new covid variants
A drug that is approved for treating gallstones and liver conditions inhibits cells’ ACE2 receptors, which the coronavirus’ spike protein binds to Health 5 December 2022 By Carissa Wong The omicron coronavirus variant binding to a cell’s ACE2 receptor DESIGN CELLS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy A drug that targets the coronavirus’ entry […]