Reuters Health News Summary

Bahrain approves registration for Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority said on Sunday it had approved the registration of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Swiss hospitals implore health minister to tighten coronavirus restrictions

The directors of five of Switzerland's largest hospitals have written to the health minister asking for urgent measures to reduce coronavirus infections, the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported on Sunday. In their letter to Health Minister Alain Berset, the directors of the university hospitals of Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne and Geneva said the pandemic was forcing them to postpone operations for patients with other life-threatening conditions while intensive care beds were becoming scarce. CDC advisory panel recommends COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Saturday recommended the nation's first COVID-19 vaccine, helping clear the way for public health authorities to begin the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 11 to 0 to recommend the vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE as appropriate for Americans 16 and older. There were three abstentions due to prior conflicts of interest. South Korea's Moon warns of toughest COVID-19 curbs after two days of record cases

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in warned on Sunday that COVID-19 restrictions may be raised to the highest level after a second day of record increases in cases as the country battles a harsh third wave of infection. Presiding over an emergency meeting at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the first time since February, Moon urged vigilance and called for an all-out efforts to contain the virus. Germany to impose stricter lockdown to battle COVID-19

Germany will close most stores from Wednesday until at least Jan. 10, cutting short the busy Christmas shopping season, as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday. "I would have wished for lighter measures. But due to Christmas shopping the number of social contacts has risen considerably," Merkel told journalists following a meeting with leaders of the country's 16 federal states. Historic U.S. COVID vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks

Workers at a Pfizer Inc factory in Michigan dispatched the first shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Sunday - launching the largest and most complex vaccine distribution project ever in the United States. A network television video feed from the facility in Kalamazoo showed masked workers removing pizza-boxed sized cartons containing vaccine vials from a freezer, and placing them in large, blue coolers, before these were boxed and labeled. Bahrain approves registration for Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine

Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority said on Sunday it had approved the registration of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). The statement did not specify which vaccine among the two being developed by Sinopharm, but cited data from Phase III clinical trials that showed an 86% efficacy rate and said Bahrain had participated in those trials. China reports 24 new COVID-19 cases, monitoring tourist spot Hainan

China reported 24 new coronavirus cases in the mainland on Sunday, up from 13 cases a day earlier, while the authorities were monitoring possible contacts in the domestic tourism hotspot of Hainan. There were five local cases and 19 imported infections on Saturday, according to a statement by the National Health Commission. Brazil rolls out COVID-19 vaccination plan

The Brazilian government unveiled its long-awaited national vaccination plan against COVID-19 on Saturday with an initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about one-fourth of the population, in the first half of 2021. In a document sent to the Supreme Court, which had given the government a deadline to draw up the plan, the Health Ministry said 108 million doses will be available for priority vaccination of vulnerable groups that include health workers, elderly people and indigenous communities. Moscow will not impose curfew despite rise in coronavirus infections - mayor

Moscow will not impose a curfew or curb alcohol sales during the New Year holiday, despite a rise in coronavirus cases, the mayor of the Russian capital was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Sunday. Russia, which began vaccinating exposed groups in Moscow, a city of nearly 13 million, earlier in December, has resisted imposing a strict lockdown as it did early this year, relying on targeted measures instead. First U.S. shots in COVID-19 vaccine campaign coming Monday, Army general says

The first shots in a massive U.S. COVID-19 vaccine campaign will be administered as early as Monday, with Pfizer Inc and partners aiming to start shipments across the hard-hit country on Sunday, an Army general organizing the rollout said. Healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are expected to be the main recipients of the first wave of 2.9 million shots this month, with healthcare worker inoculations as soon as Monday and nursing home residents by the end of next week, U.S. Army General Gustave Perna said on a Saturday press call.