Health News Roundup: England test and trace scheme reports 24% rise; As Olympics loom, Japanese approval of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and more

The emergency state would take effect on Friday and run through Feb. 7, he said at the start of a government task force meeting on COVID-19 countermeasures. Less than a third of Filipinos open to COVID-19 jabs - survey Less than a third of Filipinos are willing to get inoculated against the coronavirus, an opinion poll showed on Thursday, as the government races to secure vaccines to give to as many as 70 million people this year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

England test and trace scheme reports 24% rise in positive COVID cases

There has been a 24% increase in people testing positive for the coronavirus in the week to Dec. 30, England's test and trace scheme said on Thursday, reflecting a spike in cases that has prompted a new national lockdown. The scheme contacted 92.3% of the 493,573 people identified as close contacts of positive cases, a similar proportion to the week before.

Exclusive: As Olympics loom, Japanese approval of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine unlikely till May

Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely to win approval in Japan until May due to requirements for local clinical trials, the distributor said, casting doubt over a nationwide vaccination rollout before the summer Tokyo Olympics. With an eye on the Olympics due to start in late July, Japan has secured rights to at least 540 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from several Western developers, the biggest quantity in Asia and more than enough for its 126 million population.

Some Israeli Arabs, Jerusalem Palestinians wary of coronavirus vaccine

As Israel leads the world in the rate of coronavirus vaccination, some of its Arab citizens and Palestinians in annexed East Jerusalem are regarding the shot with suspicion. In what officials see as a result of misinformation about possible side-effects or supposed malicious properties, turnout for vaccines has been low among Arabs, who make up 21% of Israel's population, and Jerusalem Palestinians.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

U.S. tops 21 million cases

Senegal hopes to acquire vaccines to complement COVAX programme, says health minister Senegal is trying to acquire vaccines to complement ones it will get through the global COVAX scheme, health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told reporters on Thursday.

Moderna CEO says vaccine likely to protect for 'couple of years'

Moderna's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is likely to offer protection of up to a couple of years, its chief executive said on Thursday, even though more data is still needed to make a definitive assessment. The U.S. biotech company, which stunned the world last year by coming up with a vaccine against the disease caused by the new coronavirus in just a few weeks, received approval for its shot from the European Commission on Wednesday.

Japan PM Suga announces state of emergency for Tokyo area until Feb. 7

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three adjacent prefectures to combat a rise in coronavirus infections. The emergency state would take effect on Friday and run through Feb. 7, he said at the start of a government task force meeting on COVID-19 countermeasures.

Less than a third of Filipinos open to COVID-19 jabs - survey

Less than a third of Filipinos are willing to get inoculated against the coronavirus, an opinion poll showed on Thursday, as the government races to secure vaccines to give to as many as 70 million people this year. The survey by Pulse Asia conducted between Nov. 23 and Dec. 2, found that 32% of 2,400 respondents would get a COVID-19 vaccine jab when available, while 47% would refuse it over safety concerns.

Nearly 20,000 second doses of Pfizer vaccine given in England before rule change

Nearly 20,000 second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech were given to people in England before guidelines were changed to prioritise giving out first doses, the National Health Service said on Thursday. The figures showed that 19,981 second vaccinations were given between the Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, out of 1.1 million total administered in England. Across the whole of the United Kingdom, 1.3 million doses have been deployed.

Amid COVID-19 surge, S.Africa aims to vaccinate for herd immunity

South Africa will vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of its population, against COVID-19 in order to achieve herd immunity, its health minister said on Thursday, as a mutant variant drove daily new cases above 21,000 for the first time. He spoke as the government said it would receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca's shot from the Serum Institute of India (SII), spread over January and February.