Reuters Health News Summary

The country's medical regulator was one of the first in the world to complete a comprehensive approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, noting it was a year since the first local coronavirus case was detected.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Australia approves Pfizer vaccine, warns of limited global AstraZeneca supply

Australia on Monday approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use but warned AstraZeneca's international production problems mean the country would need to distribute a locally manufactured shot earlier than planned. The country's medical regulator was one of the first in the world to complete a comprehensive approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, noting it was a year since the first local coronavirus case was detected. Anger and grief as United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll nears 100,000

As the United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll approaches 100,000, grief-stricken relatives of the dead expressed anger at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the worst public health crisis in a century. When the novel coronavirus, which first emerged in China in 2019, slid silently across the United Kingdom in March, Johnson initially said he was confident it could be sent packing in weeks. Merck ends COVID vaccine program, cites inferior immune responses

Drugmaker Merck & Co said on Monday it would stop development of its two COVID-19 vaccines and focus pandemic research on treatments, with initial data on an experimental oral antiviral expected by the end of March. Merck was late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 2 million people and continues to surge in many parts of the world including the United States. From factory to faraway village: behind India's mammoth vaccination drive

Reena Jani rose early, finished her chores in the crisp January cold and walked uphill to the road skirting her remote tribal hamlet of Pendajam in eastern India. Riding pillion on a neighbour's motorcycle for 40 minutes through hillsides dotted with paddy fields, the 34-year-old health worker headed for the Mathalput Community Health Centre. CVS completes first round of COVID-19 vaccination at 8,000 U.S. nursing facilities

Drugstore chain CVS Health Corp said on Monday it has completed administering the first round of COVID-19 vaccination at about 8,000 U.S. nursing facilities. Administration of second doses is underway and expected to be completed within four weeks, the company said. U.S. to escalate tracking of COVID variants as confirmed cases top 25 million

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stepping up efforts to track coronavirus mutations and keep vaccines and treatments effective against new variants until collective immunity is reached, the agency's chief said on Sunday. Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke about the rapidly evolving virus during a Fox News Sunday interview as the number of Americans known to be infected surpassed 25 million, with more than 417,000 dead, just over a year after the first U.S. case was documented. EU to require advance registration of COVID-19 vaccine exports

The European Union will require pharmaceutical companies producing COVID-19 vaccines inside the bloc to register in advance any exports of doses to third countries, an EU official said on Monday. The move comes after AstraZeneca on Friday unexpectedly announced a large cut in supplies of vaccines to the bloc for the first quarter of the year. The executive European Commission would create a transparency register for vaccine exports outside the bloc, the official told Reuters, adding that the new rule was due to enter into force in the coming days. "Export licences for humanitarian purposes will be regularly issued," the official said. Japan likely to hit COVID-19 herd immunity in October, months after Olympics: researcher

Japan is likely to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 through mass inoculations only months after the planned Tokyo Olympics, even though it has locked in the biggest quantity of vaccines in Asia, according to a London-based forecaster. That would be a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who has pledged to have enough shots for the populace by the middle of 2021, as it trails most major economies in starting COVID-19 inoculations. Dubai replaces health authority chief as UAE sees surge in COVID-19 cases

The ruler of Dubai has replaced the head of the emirate's health authority without explanation, in the midst of an immunisation drive and a spike in COVID-19 infections in the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum appointed Awad Saghir al-Ketbi as the new director general of the Dubai Health Authority, replacing Humaid al-Qutami, according to a statement issued on Sunday. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Mexican president contracts COVID

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)