Health News Roundup: California hospitals overrun even as vaccine is rolled out; Russia vaccinates its cosmonauts against COVID-19 and more

COVID-19 far more deadly than seasonal flu UK reports 28,507 new COVID-19 cases The United Kingdom recorded 28,507 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and 489 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus, according to official data. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday - just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Friday an international team led by the U.N. agency would be going to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Mike Ryan, WHO's top emergency expert, said international experts would go to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first cases of COVID-19 were detected last December.

Europe purchases 80 million more doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine

Drug developer Moderna Inc said on Friday the European Commission had exercised its option to purchase an additional 80 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The European Commission's total order commitment to date is now 160 million doses and the first deliveries of the vaccine to European countries is slated to begin in early 2021 following regulatory approval, the company said.

U.S. Vice President Pence says Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine could be approved Friday

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. approval for Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine could come within hours later on Friday, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the vaccine had been approved. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made no public announcement yet regarding its decision, and redirected Reuters to its statement from Thursday that the agency was working to rapidly authorize the vaccine.

Explainer-Young, lean, non-smoker: why odds favour France's Macron in COVID-19 fight

French President Emmanuel Macron has caught COVID-19, but since he is 42, a non-smoker who is not overweight and has access to the best medical care, statistics suggest he is unlikely to suffer the worst symptoms of the disease. Officials say he has mild symptoms and continues to work at his official residence at Versailles, just outside Paris.

California hospitals overrun even as vaccine is rolled out

Even as high profile figures like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, patients already ill with the disease crowded emergency rooms and overran intensive care units in California, now a worldwide epicenter. Another 41,000 people tested positive in the most populous U.S. state on Thursday, and 300 died, state public health officials said. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday - just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said.

Russia vaccinates its cosmonauts against COVID-19

Russia began vaccinating its cosmonauts and staff on Friday at Star City, the closed town near Moscow that is home to the country's space programme, the Roscosmos space corporation said. Russia rolled out the Sputnik V jab to medics and other frontline workers in Moscow earlier this month, and more than 200,000 people have already been vaccinated.