Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
For All New Zealanders Younger Than 15, Smoking Will Never Be Allowed
CNN: New Zealand Plans To Ban Smoking For The Next Generation
New Zealand plans to outlaw smoking for the next generation so they will never be legally able to buy tobacco in the country. Under proposed new legislation, the legal age of 18 for buying tobacco will be raised progressively, Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall said at a news conference Thursday. "We want to make sure young people never start smoking so we will make it an offence to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth," she said. "People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco." (Mogul, 12/9)
And in covid news from around the world —
Politico: Boris Johnson Deploys England’s Coronavirus ‘Plan B’ To Curb Omicron Spread
Boris Johnson announced a raft of new coronavirus restrictions Wednesday in the face of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. Under the new restrictions, proof of vaccinations or a negative COVID-19 test will be required to enter nightclubs and large venues from next week, while face masks will be mandatory in most indoor settings. People in England will also be asked to work from home "if you can" from next week. (McDonald and Casalicchio, 12/8)
Bloomberg: South Africa Research Council Gets Right To Access Vaccine Data
The South African Medical Research Council won the right to access the country’s Covid-19 vaccination data, ending a standoff with the Department of Health. The council compiles a weekly excess deaths report and says access to the data would allow it to show the role of vaccines in reducing mortality. “If we are able to put the data together, we can get a picture of how well the vaccines work - which is particularly important in the context of a new variant,” said Debbie Bradshaw, a chief specialist scientist at the council, said in a statement on Wednesday. (Sguazzin, 12/8)
Bloomberg: Maker Of World’s Most-Used Shot Says Omicron Data To Take Time
China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd, whose coronavirus vaccine is the most widely-used globally with 2.3 billion doses shipped out, said it’s testing its inactivated shot against omicron in a number of laboratory studies but that any results would take time. The update comes as Pfizer Inc., which makes the world’s second-most used vaccine with BioNTech SE, said that neutralizing antibody levels fell against omicron compared to the original strain of the virus, but that a booster shot should provide people sufficient protection. (12/9)
In other global news —
The Washington Post: China Clamps Down On Vasectomies In Bid To Boost Birth Rate
Zhao Zihuan, a first-time mother in the Chinese city of Jinan, had two miscarriages before giving birth to a son last year. The seven-hour labor ended in an emergency Caesarean section. Exhausted by child care, the 32-year-old and her husband decided one kid was enough — so in April they began to inquire about a vasectomy. Yet they were turned down by two hospitals. One doctor told Zhao’s husband that the surgery was no longer allowed under the country’s new family-planning rules. (Chen, Li and Kuo, 12/9)
