Health News Roundup: Brazil aims to vaccinate entire population against COVID-19 in 2021; Factbox-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus and more

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS Japan plans vaccine freezer buying binge as Tokyo reports record cases Japan said on Thursday it will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store novel coronavirus vaccines as it prepares for the "extraordinary task" of protecting its people, while the capital, Tokyo, reported a record number of new infections.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Brazil aims to vaccinate entire population against COVID-19 in 2021

Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said on Thursday during a radio interview that the government plans to vaccine the country's entire population against COVID-19 in 2021. He said that vaccine candidates that receive approval from health regulator Anvisa may be used to immunize Brazilians.

Factbox-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Britain's economic recovery almost ground to a halt in October as a surge in coronavirus cases hammered the hospitality sector, increasing the chances that the economy will shrink over the final three months of 2020.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS Japan plans vaccine freezer buying binge as Tokyo reports record cases

Japan said on Thursday it will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store novel coronavirus vaccines as it prepares for the "extraordinary task" of protecting its people, while the capital, Tokyo, reported a record number of new infections. Japan, with a population of 126 million, has agreements to buy a total of 290 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc, or enough for 145 million people.

U.S. on cusp of COVID-19 vaccine as deaths surpass 3,000 in a day

The United States prepared to roll out a coronavirus vaccine within days as the country's daily death toll surpassed 3,000 for the first time, exceeding the number of lives lost from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. COVID-19 deaths reached 3,253 on Wednesday, pushing up the U.S. total since the start of the pandemic to 289,740, with a record 106,219 people hospitalized with the highly infectious respiratory disease.

Not without India: World's pharmacy gears up for vaccine race

India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, is getting set for the massive global blitz to contain the coronavirus pandemic with its pharmaceutical industry and partners freeing up capacity and accelerating investments even without firm purchase orders. India manufactures more than 60% of all vaccines sold across the globe, and while its $40 billion pharmaceutical sector is not yet involved in the production of the expensive Pfizer Inc and Moderna shots, the nation will play a pivotal role in immunizing much of the world.

Germans need to reduce contacts or tougher restrictions unavoidable -RKI

Germany will have no choice but to introduce tougher restrictions to curb coronavirus infections if people do not reduce contacts significantly, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) said on Thursday. People have so far reduced contacts by around 40% on average, but contacts will need to be cut by at least 60%, in order to bring infections down, Lother Wieler said as he urged people not to travel over the Christmas holiday period.

Factbox: How the novel coronavirus has evolved

As the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the world, killing more than 1.5 million people over the past year, it has mutated into seven major groups, or strains, as it adapted to its human hosts. Mapping and understanding those changes to the virus is crucial to developing strategies to combat the COVID-19 disease it causes.

Moderna begins study of COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents

Moderna Inc said on Thursday it had dosed the first participant in a mid-to-late stage study testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in adolescents aged 12 to less than 18. The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: U.S. daily deaths top 3,250 Coronavirus scare on Singapore cruise ship was false alarm, authorities say

A suspected COVID-19 case aboard a "cruise-to-nowhere" from Singapore which forced the ship to return to dock and nearly 1,700 guests to isolate was a false alarm, the government said on Thursday. Passengers on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas vessel were held in their cabins for more than 16 hours on Wednesday after an 83-year-old man was tested positive for COVID-19 aboard the ship when he sought medical help for diarrhoea.