Health News Roundup: Italy plans primrose-shaped gazebos for COVID-19 vaccine campaign; First batch of Pfizer/BioNTEch COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Canada and more

U.S. CDC reports 296,818 deaths from coronavirus The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 15,932,116 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 213,305 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,283 to 296,818.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 14-12-2020 10:36 IST | Created: 14-12-2020 10:28 IST
Health News Roundup: Italy plans primrose-shaped gazebos for COVID-19 vaccine campaign; First batch of Pfizer/BioNTEch COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Canada and more
Representative Image. Image Credit: Pixabay

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Italy plans primrose-shaped gazebos for COVID-19 vaccine campaign

Italy plans to set up primrose-shaped pavilions in its artistic squares to dispense vaccines against the highly contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus during a campaign that kicks off next month. Italy, the first Western country hit by the pandemic, on Saturday overtook Britain to report the highest official death toll from COVID-19 among European countries.

Historic U.S. vaccine campaign begins with first shipments 'delivering hope' to millions

The first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine left on trucks and planes early on Sunday, kicking off a historic effort to stop a surging pandemic that is claiming more than 2,400 lives a day in the United States. Mask-wearing workers at a Pfizer Inc factory in Michigan began packing the first shipments of the vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech SE in dry ice shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET (1130 GMT) on Sunday.

U.S. expects to have immunized 100 million against COVID-19 by end of March -Slaoui

The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Sunday. The first vaccine was authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators on Friday night and began shipping on Sunday.

Australian state says work from home is over, but employees still shun office

A work from home order to combat coronavirus in Australia's most populous state ended on Monday, a milestone for a country with very low COVID-19 numbers, but many companies plan to keep flexible work arrangements into 2021. New South Wales (NSW) state, home to the country's biggest city Sydney, said it was going ahead with a plan to lift the public health order that has been in place most of the year as it reported no new local coronavirus infections for a 10th straight day.

South Korea orders schools to shut as COVID-19 cases spike

South Korea ordered schools to close from Tuesday in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst outbreak of novel coronavirus since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous peak in February. Schools in the capital region would move classes online until the end of the month, in the latest ratcheting up of social distancing measures which so far have failed to reverse the spike in infections.

U.S. CDC director 'proud' to sign advisory panel recommendation of COVID vaccine

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said on Sunday that he had signed a CDC advisory panel's recommendation of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Saturday voted 11 to 0 to recommend the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech SE as appropriate for Americans 16 and older. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine.

Spain could develop coronavirus herd immunity by end of summer 2021, minister says

Spain should achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 by the end of summer 2021 if enough people are vaccinated by then, the health minister said in an interview published on Sunday. Salvador Illa said a vaccination programme will start in January and by the end of the summer more than two thirds of the population of 47 million should be vaccinated.

First batch of Pfizer/BioNTEch COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Canada

The first COVID-19 vaccines landed on Canadian soil on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, and some Canadians are expected to roll up their sleeves for a shot as soon as Monday. Canada and the United States are set this week to become the first Western nations after the UK to begin inoculations with the newly approved vaccine.

Bird flu spreads to 10th Japanese prefecture

Japan's worst bird flu outbreak on record spread to new farms and now affects more than 20% of the country's 47 prefectures, with officials ordering cullings after more poultry deaths. About 11,000 birds will be slaughtered and buried after avian influenza was discovered at an egg farm in Higashiomi city in Shiga prefecture in southwestern Japan, the agriculture ministry said over the weekend.

U.S. CDC reports 296,818 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 15,932,116 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 213,305 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,283 to 296,818. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Dec. 12 versus its previous report a day earlier.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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