Health News Roundup: FDA approves first COVID-19 test kit for home use; Women handling the dead: More female morticians in South Korea as taboo fades and more

J&J expects data for U.S. authorization of COVID-19 vaccine by February, says head scientist Johnson & Johnson's chief scientist said the drugmaker is recruiting over 1,000 people per day for the late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and expects to have all the data needed to seek U.S. authorization by February or earlier.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

FDA approves first COVID-19 test kit for home use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved the first COVID-19 self-testing kit for home use that provides results within 30 minutes. The single-use test, made by Lucira Health, has been given emergency use authorization for home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals age 14 and older who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider, the FDA said.

Women handling the dead: More female morticians in South Korea as taboo fades

A growing number of South Korean women are training to be morticians, a field from which they had long been excluded, amid changing views on gender roles and a rising preference for women's bodies to be handled by women. With recent deaths of female celebrities and prominent figures, as well as growing scrutiny of sex crimes against women, gender sensitivity is changing the way families of the deceased bid farewell to their grandmothers, mothers and daughters.

Watchdog criticises UK government for COVID procurement amid "chumocracy" claims

The British government did not properly document key decisions nor was it open enough about billions of pounds of contracts handed out during the COVID-19 pandemic, its spending watchdog has said, as critics accuse ministers of running a "chumocracy". The National Audit Office (NAO) said on Wednesday there had been a lack of transparency and a failure to explain why certain suppliers were chosen, or how any conflict of interest was dealt with, over 18 billion pounds ($24 billion) in procurement deals made between March and the end of July, often with no competition.

U.S. medical leaders rebuke Trump, urge COVID-19 cooperation with Biden team

The U.S. medical establishment on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump to share critical COVID-19 data with President-elect Joe Biden's team to avoid needless, deadly lags in tackling a raging pandemic that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals nationwide. The extraordinary rebuke, weighing in on the White House post-election transition fray, came in an open letter from three leading healthcare organizations as state and local governments scrambled to fight the virus in the absence of a coordinated national strategy.

Brazil to receive China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, eyes Pfizer candidate

Brazil's Sao Paulo state is set to begin importing the first of 46 million doses of China's Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 this week, while the federal government takes a more cautious approach with a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. Federal health officials met with Pfizer representatives on Tuesday as Brazil seeks to secure vaccine supplies. The Health Ministry said in a statement that it would buy the Pfizer vaccine, currently in Phase 3 trials, if it was proven safe and was registered with health authority Anvisa.

South Australia orders six-day statewide lockdown against fresh virus outbreak

South Australia announced a six-day lockdown of the state on Wednesday to stamp out a fresh coronavirus outbreak that has now expanded to 22 cases, warning the strain of virus was highly contagious with a 24-hour infection rate. As of midnight, a series of wide-ranging mobility restrictions will be imposed on homes and businesses for six days to allow "breathing space" for contact tracing, South Australia state Premier Steven Marshall said.

J&J expects data for U.S. authorization of COVID-19 vaccine by February, says head scientist

Johnson & Johnson's chief scientist said the drugmaker is recruiting over 1,000 people per day for the late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and expects to have all the data needed to seek U.S. authorization by February or earlier. "By the end of the year or around the end of the year, we should have 60,000 people in the study," Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&J's chief scientific officer, said in an interview ahead of this week's Reuters Total Health conference.

Regeneron says Roche successfully tested manufacture of COVID-19 drug used on Trump

Roche Holding AG has completed early tests of its ability to produce large quantities of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's COVID-19 antibody treatment, putting it on track to begin manufacturing the drug once it is authorized by regulators, Regeneron's president said on Tuesday. The experimental therapy was used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump in October. The companies aim to be able to make 2 million doses of the antibody cocktail next year, but are awaiting clearance from regulators.

Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine induces quick immune response: study

Sinovac Biotech's experimental COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac triggered a quick immune response but the level of antibodies produced was lower than in people who had recovered from the disease, preliminary trial results showed on Wednesday. While the early to mid-stage trials were not designed to assess the efficacy of CoronaVac, researchers said it could provide sufficient protection, based on their experience with other vaccines and data from preclinical studies with macaques.

How two companies sprinted ahead in extraordinary race for a COVID vaccine

Just as the novel coronavirus was gaining a foothold in the United States in mid-March, Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla called on his top vaccine scientists and laid out a clear mission: "He basically said, 'Your mandate is to get this vaccine made. And if you need resources, you come and you ask for them, and you're going to get them',"chief viral vaccine scientist Philip Dormitzer told Reuters.