Health News Roundup: Indonesia aims to start general public COVID-19 vaccinations late April to May; Biden looks to galvanize COVID-19 fight, vaccinations as he takes office and more

WHO plans slew of COVID-19 vaccine approvals for global rollout The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to approve several COVID-19 vaccines from Western and Chinese manufacturers in the coming weeks and months, a document published on Wednesday shows, as it aims for rapid rollouts in poorer countries.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia aims to start general public COVID-19 vaccinations late April to May

Indonesia plans to start giving the general public COVID-19 vaccinations sometime between late April to May, health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Thursday. "(Vaccinations) will happen for 1.4 million health between January to February, after that 17 million public workers will be vaccinated, then we will provide vaccines for 25 million seniors," he told a forum, adding he hoped by May or the end of April Indonesia could start vaccinating the general public.

Biden looks to galvanize COVID-19 fight, vaccinations as he takes office

President Joe Biden attempted to jump-start the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, signing a string of executive orders intended to lead a country reeling from its worst public health crisis in more than a century. Biden takes office a day after the United States marked a total of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began spreading widely last March. Vaccination programs have lagged far behind the target of 20 million Americans inoculated by the end of 2020.

UK researchers say lateral flow tests detect the most infectious COVID cases

Rapid lateral flow tests will likely identify the most infectious COVID-19 cases with higher viral loads despite concerns over the overall sensitivity of the tests, Oxford University researchers said on Thursday, as the British government eyes mass testing to ease the current lockdown. Along with the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, the government has cited widespread testing, including lateral flow tests, as a key part of its plans to re-open the economy. Concerns about the tests' accuracy have led some to question the plan, however.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 20,398: RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 20,398 to 2,088,400, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday. The reported death toll rose by 1,013 to 49,783, the tally showed.

WHO plans slew of COVID-19 vaccine approvals for global rollout

The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to approve several COVID-19 vaccines from Western and Chinese manufacturers in the coming weeks and months, a document published on Wednesday shows, as it aims for rapid rollouts in poorer countries. COVAX, a global scheme co-led by the WHO, wants to deliver at least 2 billion COVID-19 doses across the world this year, with at least 1.3 billion going to poorer countries.

'No evidence of decline' in COVID-19 rates in England's third lockdown

A third pandemic lockdown appears to be having little impact on rates of COVID-19 in England, researchers warned on Thursday, with prevalence of the disease "very high" and "no evidence of decline" in the first 10 days of renewed restrictions. Until rates of COVID-19 are reduced substantially, health services "will remain under extreme pressure" and the number of deaths will continue to rise rapidly, researchers leading Imperial College London's REACT-1 prevalence study said. 35.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 16.5 million administered: U.S. CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 16,525,281 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 35,990,150 doses. The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the agency said.

Vaccines become latest frontline in China's campaign to win hearts of Taiwanese

Beijing is touting a state programme that gives Taiwanese in China priority for COVID-19 vaccines, prompting concern within Taiwan's government which sees it as the latest Chinese tool to win over the island's population. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, is making the free-of-charge offer at a time when the democratic island has yet to begin vaccinations of its own, with Chinese government departments and state media quoting Taiwanese in China in support of the programme.

Conflicting COVID-19 results for Roche arthritis drug show more trials needed

Larger trials are needed to assess whether Roche's arthritis drug tocilizumab can cut death rates among the sickest COVID-19 patients, scientists said on Wednesday, after a small study found it was no better than standard care in severe cases. The Brazilian study's results, published in the BMJ British Medical Journal, contradict findings of some earlier trials, including an 800-patient analysis this month that found a significant benefit of tocilizumab, also known as Actemra, for the critically ill.

India's Bharat Biotech seeks emergency use approval for vaccine in Philippines India's Bharat Biotech submitted on Thursday an application for the emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines, Food and Drug Administration chief Rolando Enrique Domingo said. Bharat Biotech, which has developed COVAXIN with the Indian Council of Medical Research, is the fourth vaccine maker to apply for emergency use in the Philippines.

(With inputs from agencies.)