Health News Roundup: UK set to step up coronavirus vaccinations; Record daily German COVID-19 deaths spark Merkel 'mega-lockdown' pla and more

Preliminary findings by scientists at Public Health England (PHE) showed that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare - with only 44 cases found among 6,614 previously infected people in the study. China steals march on West in developing nations' vaccine rollout China is stealing a march on Western drugmakers in the COVID-19 vaccine race in developing nations, with Indonesia and Turkey rolling out huge campaigns with a Chinese shot this week, Brazil due to follow soon, and even EU member Hungary signing up.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China is stealing a march on Western drugmakers in the COVID-19 vaccine race in developing nations, with Indonesia and Turkey rolling out huge campaigns with a Chinese shot this week, Brazil due to follow soon, and even EU member Hungary signing up. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

American tells pilots to take vaccine on own time but plans airport-based rollout

American Airlines has told pilots they should take a COVID-19 vaccine on their own time while preparing a broader voluntary program for employee vaccinations at airports around the country. Vaccines could be ready for Chicago-based staff as soon as mid-February, though American is not requiring them, said Jennifer Saddy, managing director of absence management who is part of the team leading American's vaccine efforts.

30.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 11.1 million administered: U.S. CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 11,148,991 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 30,628,175 doses. The tally of vaccine doses distributed and the number of people who received the first dose are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, the agency said.

American teachers grapple with patchy COVID-19 vaccine rollout

For New York City high school teacher Rebecca Crawford, receiving the coronavirus vaccine meant taking the first concrete step towards seeing her students in person again, after an uncertain year that she spent mostly teaching online. On Wednesday afternoon, Crawford, 39, was administered the first dose of a two-shot COVID-19 vaccine at Kings County Hospital in the borough of Brooklyn, days after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo opened up inoculations for teachers.

UK set to step up coronavirus vaccinations: FT

Britain is set to step up coronavirus vaccinations with 500,000 doses a day by next week, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a Scottish government document. Britain will have secured enough vaccines to inoculate most of the 15 million most-vulnerable people that the government is aiming to offer the vaccine by mid-February, the report said https://on.ft.com/2LBP11v.

Record daily German COVID-19 deaths spark Merkel 'mega-lockdown' plan: Bild

Germany recorded a new record number of deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday, prompting calls for an even tighter lockdown after the country emerged relatively unscathed in 2020. Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted a "mega-lockdown", mass-selling newspaper Bild reported, shutting down the country almost completely for fear of the fast-spreading variant of the virus first detected in Britain.

Team from WHO heads to China in search of COVID origins An international team of scientists led by the World Health Organization was set to arrive in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus that sparked the pandemic. The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the extent of its initial outbreak a year ago, has called for a "transparent" WHO-led investigation and criticised the terms of the visit, under which Chinese experts have done the first phase of research.

COVID-19 infection gives some immunity, but virus can still be spread, study finds People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found. Preliminary findings by scientists at Public Health England (PHE) showed that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare - with only 44 cases found among 6,614 previously infected people in the study.

China steals march on West in developing nations' vaccine rollout China is stealing a march on Western drugmakers in the COVID-19 vaccine race in developing nations, with Indonesia and Turkey rolling out huge campaigns with a Chinese shot this week, Brazil due to follow soon, and even EU member Hungary signing up. Scientists in some Western countries say China has been too slow to publish trial data. Public reports so far about how well its vaccines work have been inconsistent, which the Chinese firms attribute to variations in methodology.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Infection, immunity and spread

(With inputs from agencies.)