Health News Roundup: Lockdown in Sydney; surge in COVID-19 cases in Thailand and more

In the health sector today, Sydney has imposed a lockdown on beach suburbs due to the growing COVID-19 cluster while a new COVID-19 strain is spreading more quickly, according to UK medical chief. Watch the video below for the top health stories of December 18 from all across the world.

Devdiscourse brings you the top health news stories of the day from all across the world.

Sydney imposes lockdown on beach suburbs as COVID cluster grows

Around a quarter of a million people in Sydney's northern beach suburbs were ordered on Saturday into a strict lockdown until midnight on Wednesday in an effort to contain a coronavirus cluster that authorities fear may spread across the city. Authorities will on Sunday announce whether further restrictions will be imposed on the rest of Sydney, Australia's most populous city.

U.S. authorizes Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, elderly next in line for shots

Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine on Friday became the second to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to be added to the U.S. rollout, which began this week with healthcare workers. Older people in long-term care facilities are next in line for vaccines.

FDA investigating five allergic reactions after Pfizer shot in U.S

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating around five allergic reactions that happened after people were administered Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine in the United States this week, a top FDA official said late on Friday. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said at a press conference that the allergic reactions had been reported in more than one state, including in Alaska.

Panama orders men and women to shop on different days to curb coronavirus

Panama will next week reimpose nationwide curbs on movement by requiring men and women to carry out festive shopping on different days, the health minister said on Friday, imposing drastic measures following a surge in coronavirus cases. The restrictions are similar to what the Central American nation imposed in the worst-hit parts of the country in June.

Thailand reports jump in local coronavirus infections linked to shrimp market

Thailand has nine new local coronavirus infections, the biggest one-day rise in local transmissions in more than seven months, health officials said on Saturday. The nine cases are connected to a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province.

Swiss drugs regulator authorizes Pfizer/Biontech COVID-19 vaccine

Swiss drug regulator Swissmedic has authorized the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Over 400 thousand people have been infected by COVID-19 in the country.

New COVID-19 strain spreads more quickly, UK medical chief says

A new strain of COVID-19 identified in the United Kingdom can spread more quickly and urgent work is underway to confirm that it does not cause a higher mortality rate, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Saturday. "As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England's genomic surveillance," Whitty said in a statement.