Reuters Health News Summary

U.S., staying in WHO, to join COVID vaccine push for poor nations: Fauci The United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Stop complaining about slow vaccine roll-out, Merkel urges Germans

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Thursday to stop complaining about the slow roll-out of a vaccine against COVID-19 and defended a decision to extend a lockdown as necessary to stem a more aggressive variant of the coronavirus. Speaking at a news conference, Merkel said it would be a mistake to ease curbs now given the mutation first identified in England had been found in Germany, Europe's most populous country and largest economy. On Britain's COVID-19 frontline, medics and patients fight for life

At Milton Keynes University Hospital in England, it's a battle between life and death. For those most ill, death is gaining the upper hand. The latest COVID-19 wave has hit the hospital northwest of London with even more force than the first: younger patients fill its wards and fewer of the sickest people respond to treatment. Swiss crematorium braces for more COVID deaths, tries to enable peaceful goodbyes

Switzerland's biggest crematorium is bracing itself for a renewed spike in coronavirus deaths as new variants of the virus drive up infection rates around the country, while striving to maintain the conditions for saying peaceful goodbyes. Crematorium Nordheim in Zurich processed 860 bodies in December, 45% more than normal, and was forced to extend its daily operating hours and conduct cremations on Saturdays as the virus took its toll, particularly on the elderly. UAE approves Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

The UAE health ministry on Thursday approved Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, state media reported, as infection levels hit a record and only weeks after vaccine trials began in the United Arab Emirates. Daily infections of the novel coronavirus in the UAE reached 3,529 on Thursday, the health ministry said, the highest in the Gulf Arab region, where daily tallies in each of the other five states have fallen below 500. South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose for AstraZeneca vaccine from India's SII

South Africa will pay $5.25 per dose for 1.5 million shots of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), a senior official said on Thursday, more than some wealthier countries are paying. Health department Deputy Director-General Anban Pillay told Reuters that SII's price was based on South Africa's status as an upper-middle-income country under a World Bank classification. EU leaders weigh travel curbs over virus variant fears

European Union leaders were seeking on Thursday to address the coronavirus pandemic's mounting challenges, including increased calls to limit travel and tighten border controls to contain more infectious variants of the disease. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before an evening leaders' video conference that European countries needed to take the new mutation found in Britain seriously to avoid a third wave. UK health minister says data on Pfizer vaccine supports shift to 12-week dosing schedule

Data supports Britain's decision to move to a 12-week dosing schedule for Pfizer's COVID vaccine, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday, adding details on efficacy gathered during the rollout would be published as soon as possible. "Around 89% efficacy comes from between days 14 and days 21 after the first dose," Hancock told lawmakers, saying he had reviewed the data, and that it supported the decision to move to a 12-week schedule between doses. Biden will order masks on planes and trains, increase disaster funds to fight coronavirus

President Joe Biden will sign 10 executive orders on Thursday to fight the coronavirus pandemic, including directing that disaster funds be used to help reopen schools and requiring that people wear masks on planes and buses, officials said. Biden, a Democrat who took over from Republican President Donald Trump on Wednesday, has promised a fierce fight against the pandemic that killed 400,000 people in the United States under Trump's watch. California resumes Moderna COVID-19 vaccine usage after pause

California's health department said on Wednesday it was safe to continue to use a batch of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc for inoculation after a pause on Sunday due to possible allergic reactions. Moderna said on Tuesday it had received a report from the California Department of Public Health that several people at a center in San Diego were treated for possible allergic reactions after vaccination from one lot of its COVID-19 vaccine. U.S., staying in WHO, to join COVID vaccine push for poor nations: Fauci

The United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. Fauci, speaking to the WHO executive board, confirmed that the United States would remain a member of the U.N. agency and said it would work multilaterally on issues from the COVID-19 pandemic to HIV/AIDS.