Health
A focused view of neutral reporting on Health, brought together across publishers.
Explore all topics →
Neutral reports only
Newest first · UTC+11:00Former US Football Player Presses for Cancer Cure in Honor of Late Wife
No media source currently available
NYC COVID Vaccine Mandates For Private Businesses Become First In US
No media source currently available
Taliban gets 800,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses as part of China’s aid to Afghanistan | South China Morning Post
China delivered 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. The shipment is part of a larger 200 million yuan (US$31 million) aid package promised to Afghanistan. It’s set to include 3 million vaccines in total, as well as much-needed food and other aid. The shipmen…
Mass burials for Covid-19 victims in Papua New Guinea as unclaimed bodies pile up at morgue | South China Morning Post
Port Moresby’s General Hospital began mass burials on December 8, 2021, with the Covid-19 pandemic helping cram the morgue with hundreds of bodies. The facility, built for just 60 deceased, now houses 300. The bodies have been left unclaimed for months. That’s a rarity in Papua New Guinea where funeral ceremonies ty…
VOA60 World - Pfizer says three doses of its COVID vaccine neutralize Omicron variant
No media source currently available
No reason for existing vaccines to fail against Omicron, says WHO | South China Morning Post
Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said on December 7, 2021, that there was no sign Omicron would be better at evading vaccines than other variants. The new coronavirus variant was first detected in South Africa on November 24, 2021, and has since spread to more than 50 count…
Japanese lawmakers visit controversial Yasukuni Shrine for first time in 2 years | South China Morning Post
A group of nearly 100 Japanese lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine – a controversial symbol of Japanese imperialism and a reminder of its wartime atrocities – on December 7, 2021. It was the first visit by Japanese politicians in two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The shrine honours 2.5 million Japanese soldi…
Omicron spreads to 48 countries, party in Norway becomes superspreader event for coronavirus variant | South China Morning Post
The new coronavirus variant Omicron has now reached 48 countries as of December 5, 2021, less than 2 weeks after it was first reported in South Africa. A corporate Christmas party in Norway on November 26 has become the biggest outbreak outside South Africa. At least half of the 120 participants tested positive, eve…
Friendship is free: The beloved surplus store saved by New Yorkers | South China Morning Post
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Henry Yao thought he would have to give up and shutter Army & Navy Bags, his tiny surplus store in New York City that he has run for about a decade. But little did Yao know that he was beloved by many New Yorkers for his kindness and friendliness, which was paid back in his mo…
As Hongkongers struggle with rising inflation, the city’s most vulnerable are the hardest hit | South China Morning Post
Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors, rising inflation has emerged as a problem around the world including in Hong Kong. The city’s consumer price index posted a year-on-year increase of 1.7 per cent in October, 2021, making life of underprivileged residents even harder. Among those bearing the brunt of…
Sorry, But Gibraltar Doesn’t Make the Case for Vaccine Critics
No media source currently available
Singapore scientists develop smart bandage that tracks wounds via an app | South China Morning Post
Scientists at the National University of Singapore have developed a smart bandage that can monitor wounds using an app. This allows patients with chronic wounds to be monitored remotely, potentially saving them visits to the doctor. Information such as temperature, bacteria type, pH data and inflammatory factors can…
India reports first Omicron variant cases despite tightened travel restrictions | South China Morning Post
India has confirmed its first two cases of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The patients has arrived from overseas on December 2, 2021, according to India’s Health Ministry officials who did not indicate which countries they had visited or their vaccination status. India has classified 11 countries a…
Delayed deliveries of Christmas gifts and trees as holiday supply chain pressure builds | South China Morning Post
Shoppers around the world are being told to expect fewer choices and higher prices for the Christmas and new year holiday season. Increased shipping costs and commodity prices associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, now further complicated by the emergence of the Omicron variant, have put a strain on global supply ch…
Trending in China: 2-year-old chopstick pro is on the road to recovery | South China Morning Post
Haihai, five, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was just a year old. Since falling sick, he has learnt to be independent, using chopsticks like a pro by the age of two. We shared the story of his cancer ordeal in 2019. Now, he is on the road to recovery. That, and more trending videos from Chi…
Clean beaches return to Philippine island after Covid-19 pauses tourism | South China Morning Post
Clean beaches and previously dwindling wildlife populations are returning to Boracay, an ‘island paradise’ of the Philippines. As the country continues to be closed off from international tourists due to the pandemic, the island is starting to recover from earlier environmental impacts of over-tourism, including gar…
Hong Kong introduces new health app for border reopening with mainland China | South China Morning Post
The app, which contains a “health code” compatible with mainland China’s version, is a key step for reopening cross-border travel and will launch next week, the Hong Kong government announced on December 2. It has stoked privacy concerns among many Hongkongers for its similarity to the one used on the mainland.
Why is the Omicron variant so concerning? Virologist warns Covid strain could ‘wreak havoc’ in HK | South China Morning Post
As the World Health Organization races to better understand the new coronavirus variant Omicron amid growing concern around the globe about this new Covid-19 mutation, how concerned should we be about Omicron? It's still unclear whether the latest strain of the coronavirus is more infectious or causes more severe di…
People line up in snow for Covid-19 testing amid outbreak in northern China border city | South China Morning Post
Hundreds of thousands of people are being tested for Covid-19 after the northern city of Manzhouli became the centre of the country’s latest outbreak. On the fourth consecutive days of testing, people queued in the snow on November 30, 2021, in the city near the Russian border in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous re…
US Supports Creation of Global Pandemic Treaty
No media source currently available
Afghan babies struggle to survive, with 1 million malnourished expected to die without treatment | South China Morning Post
Unicef estimates that some 3.2 million Afghan children under five years old are likely to suffer from malnutrition this winter, with one million expected to die if they do not receive treatment. Six-week-old Zabair is among the many malnourished infants on the verge of death in Afghanistan. The infant was put in int…
Kenyan Video Game Fights Gender-Based Violence During Pandemic
No media source currently available
Today’s HIV Patients Have More Treatment Options
No media source currently available
China pledges 1 billion vaccine jabs for Africa amid growing fear about Omicron coronavirus strain | South China Morning Post
Since the Omicron coronavirus variant was first discovered in South Africa on November 24, 2021, the Covid-19 strain has been detected in 19 countries and regions including those in Asia, Europe and North America. Amid growing fears about how the new variant will impact the pandemic fight, China has promised 1 billi…
‘Too early to tell’ if Omicron variant causes severe Covid-19 illness, says US health expert Fauci | South China Morning Post
The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, said it was difficult to know at the moment whether the new Omicron coronavirus variant causes severe Covid-19 illness in infected patients. Speaking at a White House briefing on November 30, 2021, Fauci said preliminary …
Vietnam’s largest waste-to-energy plant nears completion | South China Morning Post
Vietnam’s largest waste-to-energy plant is nearing completion, with construction of the last major structure finished on November 14, 2021. Located in the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex, the plant is 35km (22 miles) from the capital Hanoi. It can process 4,000 tonnes of household garbage within 24 hours, accounting…
Asia tightens borders as spread of new coronavirus variant Omicron clouds region’s return to travel | South China Morning Post
Since the Omicron coronavirus variant was first identified in South Africa on November 24, 2021, the new strain is being detected in other places around the world. Hong Kong and Australia have reported three and two Omicron cases, respectively. The spread of the variant has prompted a number of Asian countries to ti…
Horseback archery: Malaysians revive ancient skills for sport and to connect with Islam | South China Morning Post
Horseback archery is quickly regaining popularity as a niche sport in Malaysia. For thousands of years, the sport was common in the country where riders mastered being able to use a bow and arrow while hunting or during warfare, skills that were lost after the introduction of firearms and other modern forms of comba…
Japan’s defence strategy set for a boost after PM attends annual military review ceremony | South China Morning Post
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reviewed troops from the country’s Ground Self-Defence Force on Saturday November 27, 2021, saying he will consider strengthening its capability. The inspection was part of the country’s annual review ceremony, which was scaled down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kishida expresse…
Face masks made with cashew nut shells developed in Singapore offer antimicrobial protection | South China Morning Post
A Singapore company says it has developed a sustainable, medical-grade face mask using natural products. The N95, CE, and Oeko-Tex certified reusable Vi-Mask is made from biodegradable ingredients derived from cashew nuts, soybeans, and chitosan from crab shells, and is said to offer antimicrobial protection. The co…
VOA60 America - Merriam-Webster Chooses Vaccine as the 2021 Word of the Year
No media source currently available
What do we know about the new coronavirus variant Omicron? | South China Morning Post
A new coronavirus variant Omicron first identified in South Africa on November 24, 2021, has been named “a coronavirus variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since its discovery, it has been spreading around the world, including to locations in Asia, Europe and Australia. The new strain, also kn…
Chinese antibody cocktail a potential game changer in fight against Covid-19 | South China Morning Post
An antibody treatment for Covid-19 that reportedly cuts hospitalisations and deaths by 78 per cent in clinical trials is expected to be approved for use in China within weeks. Chinese viral immunologist Zhang Linqi is the driving force behind the antiviral cocktail which was put together in about two months. But in …
Hong Kong’s sorry saga of the Cathay Pacific pilots fired after suspected Covid breach in Germany | South China Morning Post
There is a lesson to be learned from the saga of three Cathay Pacific pilots recently fired in a case linked to a violation of pandemic isolation rules, says the SCMP’s Cliff Buddle. He argues that in Hong Kong’s current risk-averse environment, there are serious and far-reaching consequences for what the city’s fla…
Record 2.1 million Chinese sit civil service exam as economy slows, youth jobless rate climbs | South China Morning Post
More than 2.12 million people registered for China’s annual civil service examination that were held on November 28, 2021. The record number of applicants are competing for only 31,200 vacancies, giving them just a one-in-68 chance of success landing one of the government jobs. Also known as the guokao in Mandarin, …
Concerned about overeating? Here’s what you need to know about food addiction
It often starts in childhood
Americans Brace for the Holidays as Another Pandemic Year Approaches
No media source currently available
UK bans travel from South Africa after emergence of new heavily-mutated Covid-19 variant | South China Morning Post
South Africa recorded a new Covid-19 variant with ‘a high number of mutations’ on November 25, 2021. The strain, which has the scientific designation B.1.1.529, has at least 10 mutations, compared to two for Delta and three for Beta. Concerns over transmissibility and vaccine effectiveness on the new variant has pro…
COVID Vaccine Company BioNTech Founders Aim to Tackle Cancer
No media source currently available
Chinese father makes own medicine in desperate bid to treat son’s fatal genetic disease | South China Morning Post
In China’s southwestern Yunnan province, two-year-old Haoyang may only have a few months to live because he suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Menkes syndrome. In a desperate effort to save his dying son, Xu Wei has assembled a home laboratory to try and create a treatment for his child. The disease is incu…
2-year-old chopstick pro is on the road to recovery | South China Morning Post
Haihai, five, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was just a year old. Since falling sick, he has learnt to be independent, using chopsticks like a pro by the age of two. We shared the story of his cancer ordeal in 2019. Now, he is on the road to recovery.
Religious sect at the centre of new Covid-19 outbreak in South Korea, sparking record high cases | South China Morning Post
South Korea reported a record 4,116 coronavirus infections on November 23, 2021, its highest daily Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. The latest outbreak started in the southern city of Cheonan where a religious sect, whose leader conducts healings by poking eyes, set up a commune. Around 90 per cent of…
Chinese factory in Serbia called out for alleged abuse and trafficking of Vietnamese migrant workers | South China Morning Post
A group of Vietnamese migrant workers recruited to build a Chinese-owned car tyre factory in Serbia has accused their employer of ill treatment. Said to be the first Chinese car tyre factory in Europe, Shandong Linglong Tire Co set up shop in northern Serbia where it’s being touted as the largest foreign investment …
The EPA Administrator Visited Cancer-Causing Air Pollution Hot Spots Highlighted by ProPublica and Promised Reforms
Two days after ProPublica published a first-of-its-kind analysis of industrial air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that its administrator, Michael S. Regan, would visit the communities featured in our reporting. During last week’s “Journey to Justice” trip across the South, Regan toured the …
India sees lowest daily Covid-19 new case number in over 18 months | South China Morning Post
India registered 7,579 new cases of coronavirus on November 23, 2021, the lowest daily infection number reported since May 2020. Cases have continued to drop even though large crowds recently gathered to celebrate Diwali, one of the most popular Hindu festivals in the country. In May 2020, India experienced a devast…
Hong Kong microbiologist blames 'selfish' mask for Covid-19 cross infection at quarantine hotel | South China Morning Post
A leading microbiologist in Hong Kong has labelled a face mask as “selfish” because its design contains a valve that filters air being breathed in, but not out. The city's health officials have blamed the mask for a cross infection of Covid-19 at a quarantine hotel, after two guests staying on the same floor tested …