Health News Roundup: Norway says advice on use of Pfizer vaccine is unchanged; Spain's new coronavirus cases hit 84,287 and more

WHO hopes poorer nations can access Pfizer vaccine 'very soon' The World Health Organization is in advanced negotiations with Pfizer about including the company's COVID-19 vaccine in the agency's portfolio of shots to be shared with poorer countries, a senior WHO official said on Monday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 19-01-2021 02:37 IST | Created: 19-01-2021 02:29 IST
Health News Roundup: Norway says advice on use of Pfizer vaccine is unchanged; Spain's new coronavirus cases hit 84,287 and more
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. and China clash at WHO over scientific mission in Wuhan

The United States called on China on Monday to allow an expert team from the World Health Organization (WHO) to interview "care givers, former patients and lab workers" in the central city of Wuhan, drawing a rebuke from Beijing. The team of WHO-led independent experts trying to determine the origins of the new coronavirus arrived on Jan. 14 in Wuhan where they are holding teleconferences with Chinese counterparts during a two-week quarantine before starting work on the ground.

Independent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays

An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week "very soon".

WHO hopes poorer nations can access Pfizer vaccine 'very soon'

The World Health Organization is in advanced negotiations with Pfizer about including the company's COVID-19 vaccine in the agency's portfolio of shots to be shared with poorer countries, a senior WHO official said on Monday. "We are in ... detailed discussions with Pfizer. We believe very soon we will have access to that product," Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser, said at the WHO's executive board meeting, adding that it would then look to add other vaccines.

Mexico aims to make up for Pfizer vaccine shortfall with others

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday the government aimed to compensate for a reduction in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc with those from other providers. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it was in advanced talks with Pfizer about including its vaccine in the agency's portfolio of shots to be shared with poorer countries.

Duterte says Filipinos can use Pfizer vaccine, but touts Sinovac deal

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he would not stop Filipinos from getting shots of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech, despite reports in Norway of deaths among frail elderly people after being inoculated. "Almost everybody that I know (is) scrambling to buy this Pfizer (vaccine). To me I think it's a good one," he said in a late-night televised address. "If you want to follow the experience of Norway, go ahead. Nobody would stop you."

Norway says advice on use of Pfizer vaccine is unchanged

Norway said on Monday it was not changing its policy on the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine following reports of deaths in highly frail recipients after the inoculation was given. BioNTech had earlier say that "Norwegian Health Authorities have now changed (their) recommendation in relation to vaccination of the terminally ill". But the company later retracted the statement following clarification from Norway.

Israel sharing COVID-19 data with Pfizer to help fine-tune vaccine rollout

Israel is giving weekly data updates on its COVID-19 outbreak to vaccine maker Pfizer under a collaboration agreement that may help other countries fine-tune their inoculation campaigns and achieve "herd immunity", officials said. Israelis began receiving first shots of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Dec. 19 in one of the world's fastest vaccination rollouts.

Spain's new coronavirus cases hit weekend record of 84,287

Spain reported a record rise in coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured over the past 14 days spiked to 689 per 100,000 people on Monday from 575 on Friday, health ministry data showed. Nearly 84,300 new cases were reported since Friday, bringing the cumulative total to 2,336,451, the data showed. Deaths rose by 455 over the same period to 53,769.

Vaccine nationalism puts world on brink of 'catastrophic moral failure': WHO chief

The world is on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure" in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prospects for equitable distribution were at "serious risk" just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme aimed to start distributing inoculations next month.

France's daily new COVID-19 infections at a more than six-week high

France's average daily number of new COVID-19 infections hit a six-and-a-half week high of 18,270 on Monday, while the number of people being treated in intensive care units for the disease rose above 2,800 for the first time in a month. Unlike Britain or Germany, France's government has so far stopped short of imposing a third national lockdown, but a nationwide curfew was moved earlier, to start at 6 p.m., on Saturday, and authorities say it will remain for at least a fortnight to slow the spread of the disease.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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