Health

U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Building on the experience of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, African countries are strengthening health systems to prepare for the next health crisis, the World Health Organization’s Africa director said Thursday.

TORONTO — Ontario will soon allow pharmacists to prescribe an antiviral drug used to reduce severe outcomes from COVID-19. Starting on Dec. 12, pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid to eligible patients at no cost, both in person or virtually.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The association representing doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador is looking for answers after it discovered the province agreed to pay a private telemedicine company more than double what it pays family doctors for consultations.

Young women diagnosed with breast cancer often must delay pregnancy for years while they take hormone-blocking pills.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky hospital system will pay a $4.4 million civil penalty for faulty recordkeeping that enabled a pharmacy technician to divert 60,000 doses of opioids, federal prosecutors announced.

The coronavirus pandemic interrupted efforts to control malaria, resulting in 63,000 additional deaths and 13 million more infections globally over two years, according to a report from the World Health Organization published Thursday.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — People across China reacted with relief and caution Thursday to the dramatic government decision to loosen some of the world’s most severe COVID-19 restrictions .

BEIJING (AP) — China began implementing a more relaxed version of its strict “zero COVID” policy on Thursday amid steps to restore normal life, but also trepidation over a possible broader outbreak once controls are eased.

BEIJING (AP) — In a move that caught many by surprise, China announced a potentially major easing of its rigid “zero-COVID” restrictions, without formally abandoning the policy altogether.