Browsing: Health

Health ministry figures show that the estimated costs of medical services in Japan in fiscal year 2021 rose 4.6 percent from the previous year to a record high of 44.2 trillion yen, due to a surge in Coronavirus-related expenses, as well as an aging population and the use of expensive cutting-edge technologies. Due to fears of contracting a novel virus, many people refrained from visiting the doctor in fiscal year 2020, resulting in a steep decline in growth. Payments from the public health insurance system, taxpayers’ money, and patient out-of-pocket costs are included, excluding those fully paid by patients and…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced it will launch a $1.5 billion campaign to eliminate outbreaks of bacterial meningitis across Africa by 2030. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50 million children in Africa have not yet received their meningitis vaccinations, raising fears of a resurgence of the deadly disease. A “next generation” vaccine against meningitis will be rolled out in 26 African countries most affected by the disease in a “race against time,” WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said. The WHO hopes to authorize the vaccine by the first quarter of 2023, so…

Globally, there were about 12 percent fewer cases of COVID-19 last week, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization on its weekly review. United Nations said there were 4.2 million cases of infections last week, while there were 13,700 deaths, down 5%, reported AP. “These trends are encouraging, but there is no guarantee they will persist,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The most dangerous thing is to assume (that) they will,” he said. He added that even though the number of weekly reported deaths have plummeted more than 80% since February, one person still dies with…

The European Union said on Wednesday it had secured an additional 170,920 doses of the monkeypox vaccine developed by biotech firm Bavarian Nordic amid concerns about the outbreak of the disease. Reuters reports that the most recent order brings the total number of doses directly purchased by the EU to nearly 335,000, more than doubling the previous order. According to the EU Commission, additional doses will be delivered before the end of the year, while shots purchased earlier are being distributed right now. “While we have seen the number of monkeypox cases decreasing in the EU over the past weeks,…

MENA Newswire: The Academic Team at Gulf Medical University has compiled the long-term strategic growth plan of doubling its capacity in the next three years and aligning to future requirements thereby creating a healthcare workforce to serve the community. Owned by Thumbay Group and Founded by Dr. Thumbay Moideen in 1998 the University has scaled 10-fold with its focus on providing international quality education and healthcare through GMU’s Academic Health Center at Thumbay Medicity. The Strategic plan includes several unique growth opportunities which include opening of a Branch campus in Dubai by the end of next year, starting of vocational…

In a positive move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently endorsed updated COVID-19. This opens the door to a fall vaccination campaign that may be able to blunt a winter surge if enough Americans participate. According to the AP, the vaccine boosters targeting today’s most common omicron strains should begin hitting pharmacies and clinics soon. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky made her decision shortly after the agency’s advisers approved the recommendation. “The shots can help restore protection that has waned over the years and were designed to provide broader protection,” she said. At another critical juncture in the pandemic,…

In an announcement today, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced the scientific completion of India’s first indigenous quadrivalent HPV vaccine. The indigenously produced HPV vaccine for eliminating cervical cancer is the first in India to be affordable and cost effective, Dr Singh said on the occasion in New Delhi. Health prevention is of the utmost importance, he stressed. The vaccine will be affordable and contribute to the esteem of the common Indian, he explained. A scientific completion implies that all R&D activities for the vaccine have been completed, and now it is time to make it available to the public.…

As some of China’s most populous and economically significant cities battle outbreaks, Chengdu, one of the country’s largest cities, announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents as it launched four days of citywide testing for COVID-19. Residents of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, were ordered by the city government to stay at home for most of the day on Thursday. They were allowed to do some shopping for necessities per day, Reuters reported. Since Shanghai was closed for two months earlier this year, Chengdu is the largest city to be shut down. Whether the lockdown will be lifted…

A new study has revealed that nearly half of all cancer deaths occur because of factors that can be avoided, such as living an unhealthy lifestyle, according to researchers. An international research team writes in The Lancet, a British medical journal, that smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity top the list of 34 risk factors. A study of about 10 million cancer-related deaths in 2019 analyzed data from 23 different types of cancer. A total of 4.45 million deaths, or 44.4%, were caused by external factors. “This study illustrates that the burden of cancer remains an overwhelming public health challenge that…

A major step towards launching a booster campaign to combat the newest members of the omicron family was taken by Pfizer on Monday when they asked US regulators to approve their combination COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has ordered vaccine makers to modify their shots in order to counter BA.4 and BA.5, which are more effective than ever at suppressing immunity from earlier vaccinations or infections. Boosters could be available within weeks if the FDA quickly approves the combo shots produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million of the…