Health News Roundup: U.S. records deadliest week since pandemic started with 17,000 deaths; UK reports 20,263 new COVID cases, seven-day total up 22% and more

Canada set to administer country's first COVID-19 vaccinations Canada will begin inoculating people against COVID-19 on Monday after doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began arriving over the weekend, making Canada one of the few Western nations to roll out a vaccination campaign.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Canada set to administer country's first COVID-19 vaccinations

Canada will begin inoculating people against COVID-19 on Monday after doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began arriving over the weekend, making Canada one of the few Western nations to roll out a vaccination campaign. Ontario and Quebec, the most populous and hardest hit of Canada's 10 provinces, will administer the first shots of the vaccine developed by German biotech BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. Canada is expecting to receive 30,000 doses this week.

Tighter COVID restrictions imposed in London as infections surge

London will move into England's highest tier of COVID-19 restrictions, the government said on Monday, citing increased infection rates that may be partly linked to a new variant of the coronavirus. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said more than 1,000 cases of the new variant had been identified, mainly in southeastern England.

Mexico says Russia's Sputnik V vaccine makers ask permission to do trials

The Russian makers of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V have submitted a request to carry out clinical trials in Mexico and obtain the corresponding authorization, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Monday. The development of Sputnik V has been funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Writing on Twitter, Ebrard said the request to conduct trials was submitted at Mexico's invitation.

U.S. crosses 300,000 COVID-19 deaths as vaccine rollout begins

The number of coronavirus deaths in the United States crossed 300,000 on Monday, according to Reuters tally, as the hardest hit nation rolled out its first vaccine inoculations on Monday. The staggering death toll comes as the nation begins a historic inoculation campaign using a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE. Moderna Inc's vaccine could get approval as soon as this week.

UK reports 20,263 new COVID cases, seven-day total up 22%

The United Kingdom reported 20,263 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking the total figure over the past seven days to 131,708, up 21.6% compared with the previous seven-day number, official data showed. The country reported 232 new deaths from the disease, with the seven-day total rising to 2,984, almost unchanged from the previous seven days.

Factbox: Not so Merry Christmas looms for coronavirus-hit Europe

Governments across Europe are trying to navigate between avoiding spreading the coronavirus over the Christmas holiday season and allowing people to celebrate with family and friends.

Here are some measures that will be adopted for year-end festivities by some European countries:

U.S. finds first case of coronavirus in wild animal, a Utah mink The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday that it confirmed the first known case of the coronavirus in a wild animal, a mink. The discovery increases concerns about outbreaks in mink as the virus has killed more than 15,000 farmed mink in the United States since August.

U.S. records deadliest week since pandemic started with 17,000 deaths

The United States lost more than 17,000 people to COVID-19 last week, the largest number since the beginning of the global pandemic, with North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa reporting the most deaths per capita in the past seven days. Even as the first Americans were given the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, health officials warned that infections will continue to rise in the coming weeks as families gather for the holiday season.

'Healing is coming': First Americans vaccinated as U.S. death toll passes 300,000

An intensive care unit nurse became the first person in the United States to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, calling it a sign that "healing is coming," as the U.S. coronavirus death toll crossed a staggering 300,000 lives lost. Sandra Lindsay, who has treated some of the sickest COVID-19 patients for months, was given the vaccine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in the New York City borough of Queens, an early epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, receiving applause on a livestream with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.