Health News Roundup: Vietnam jails Hanoi CDC chief for overstating COVID-19 gear cost; South Korea reports record 950 cases in COVID-19 'emergency' and more

U.S. FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use The United States said it authorized the use of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, with the first inoculations expected within days, marking a turning point in a country where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Explainer: U.S. has authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine - when will I get it?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE , making it available for emergency use to patients aged 16 and older. In clinical trials, the vaccine was 95% effective at preventing illness and showed no short-term safety issues.

Vietnam jails Hanoi CDC chief for overstating COVID-19 gear cost

A Vietnamese court on Saturday sentenced the head of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control and Prevention to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of wrongdoing linked to the procurement of equipment intended to help tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. Nguyen Nhat Cam, 57, was accused of overstating the cost of COVID-19 testing systems during a transaction, causing a loss of 5.4 billion dong ($233,483) to the state budget, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

South Korea reports record 950 cases in COVID-19 'emergency'

South Korea reported a record 950 daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, exceeding the late February peak of 909, with the president calling the country's third wave of COVID-19 an "emergency". The South Korean authorities warned they may tighten social-distancing restrictions to their strictest level but held off for now.

What's next for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine after UK rollout

Britain began the mass-vaccination of its population against COVID-19 on Tuesday, becoming the first Western nation to do so in a global endeavour that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history. Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother from Britain, became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine outside of a trial following its rapid clinical approval on Dec. 2.

U.S. FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

The United States said it authorized the use of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, with the first inoculations expected within days, marking a turning point in a country where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech, which was shown to be 95% effective in preventing the disease in a late-stage trial. It said the vaccine can be given to people aged 16 and older.

With U.S. now in hand, BioNTech CEO looks for more vaccine production

The chief executive of Germany's BioNTech SE said the biggest challenge facing it and partner Pfizer Inc now that their COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for use in the United States will be to scale up manufacturing to meet huge demand. "We need to solve the manufacturing challenge," Ugur Sahin told Reuters in an interview. "It is very clear that more doses are needed. And we are dealing with that question - how to produce more doses."

Russia reports 28,137 new coronavirus cases, 560 deaths

Russia confirmed 28,137 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday, including 6,622 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,625,848 since the pandemic began. Authorities said 560 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 46,453.

Japan surpasses 3,000 daily new coronavirus cases for first time - NHK

Japan saw more than 3,000 new infections of the novel coronavirus for the first time in one day on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK reported, as the number of cases continues to rise in the winter. A total of 3,041 people were newly infected, NHK said. Tokyo, Japan's capital and largest city, on Saturday confirmed 621 new cases.

Explainer-Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race?

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE received U.S. regulatory authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, making it the first inoculation against the new coronavirus to get a regulatory green light in the United States. The following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 1.59 million people worldwide: U.S. readies COVID-19 inoculation rollout as regulators OK first vaccine

U.S. health authorities, shipping services and hospitals stood ready on Friday to immediately launch a mass-inoculation campaign of unparalleled dimension, as federal regulators granted emergency approval to the first COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. Last-minute preparations for the vaccine rollout came as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic approached 300,000 to date, capping weeks of ominously surging infections and hospitalizations that have strained healthcare systems to their limits.