Reuters Health News Summary

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation Britain approves Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use Britain's medical regulator on Friday approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use, the health ministry said, adding that it had agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the shot as it eyed a spring rollout of the shot.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants -study

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker. The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein. U.S. wants faster vaccinations as pandemic worsens, job market suffers

U.S. health officials sought to speed up the sluggish pace of COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursday, as the coronavirus claimed over 4,000 American lives for a second straight day and employment data showed the pandemic further stifling the job market. As of Thursday, roughly 6 million people across the United States had received a first injection of the two-shot vaccines, accounting for less than one-third of more than 21 million doses shipped to date, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation Britain approves Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use

Britain's medical regulator on Friday approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use, the health ministry said, adding that it had agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the shot as it eyed a spring rollout of the shot. Three COVID-19 vaccines have now been approved for use in Britain, with Pfizer/BioNTech's shot and one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca already being rolled out. Germany reports record COVID-19 deaths, concerns about new variant grow

Germany reported a record 1,188 daily COVID-19 deaths on Friday, only days after further tightening a national lockdown amid fears that a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus may put additional strain on struggling hospitals. Europe's largest and most populous economy hopes to be able to limit the spread of the virus until enough of its population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity. EU paves way for more Pfizer vaccine shots after extra dose allowed

Europe's medicines regulator gave the go ahead on Friday for an extra sixth dose to be extracted from the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine vials, lifting the number of available shots at a time when supplies are short. EU countries started inoculating people with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine two weeks ago, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the shot's conditional approval under an authorisation which allows five doses to be extracted from each vial. Iran leader bans import of US, UK COVID-19 vaccines, demands sanctions end

Iran's Supreme Leader on Friday banned the government from importing COVID-19 vaccines from the United States and Britain, labelling the Western powers "untrustworthy", as the infection spreads in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. In a live televised speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised the prospect of the two Western countries, long-time adversaries of the Islamic Republic, possibly seeking to spread the infection to other countries. 1.1 million people in England had COVID last week - ONS

Over 1.1 million people had COVID-19 last week, equivalent to 1 in 50 people in the nation, the UK's Office for National Statistics said on Friday, rising to 1 in 30 people in the capital London as a contagious variant spreads. The ONS estimated that 1,122,000 people in England had the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the week to Jan 2. European watchdog could decide on AstraZeneca vaccine by end-Jan

Europe's medicines regulator expects drugmaker AstraZeneca to apply for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine next week, it said on Friday. The Astrazeneca shot, which was developed with Oxford University, was given a green light by authorities in Britain on Dec. 30. EU says it has secured nearly half of Pfizer's 2021 global output of COVID shots

The European Union reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 300 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, the head of the European Commission said on Friday, in a move that would give the EU nearly half of the firms' global output for 2021. Pfizer has said it can produce up to 1.3 billion doses around the world this year. The new agreement with the EU comes on top of another order for 300 million doses that the bloc agreed with Pfizer and German partner BioNTech in November.