Health News Roundup: WHO team in Wuhan visits hospital that treated early COVID cases; Japan vaccine chief says nationalism of COVID-19 shots could disrupt global supplies and more

First known U.S. cases of potent South African COVID-19 variant found in South Carolina A potent coronavirus variant originating in South Africa and found to be partly resistant to current vaccines and antibody treatments has been detected for the first time in the United States in two South Carolina patients, health officials said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO team in Wuhan visits hospital that treated early COVID cases

A World Health Organization-led team of experts investigating the origins of COVID-19 on Friday visited a hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan that was one of the first to treat patients in the early days of the outbreak. The hospital visit was the team's first in the field after two weeks in quarantine, and a WHO spokeswoman said the group's contacts in Wuhan will be limited to visits organised by their Chinese hosts due to health restrictions.

U.S. FDA extends review period on Biogen's Alzheimer's drug

Biogen Inc and partner Eisai Co Ltd said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the review period by three months for aducanumab, its experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Japan vaccine chief says nationalism of COVID-19 shots could disrupt global supplies

Japan's vaccine rollout chief said on Friday that growing nationalism over supplies of COVID-19 shots could lead to retaliation and disruptions to global supplies. Taro Kono said he was concerned about a European Union announcement that it may block exports of vaccines produced there until sufficient supplies are provided to the European people. EU stands its ground in vaccine row, says AstraZeneca contract 'crystal clear'

The European Union stood its ground in a row with AstraZeneca over COVID-19 vaccine supplies on Friday, pressing the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker to deliver the doses as promised in its contract. The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, Britain and the United States in rolling out vaccines, is scrambling to get supplies just as the West's biggest drugmakers slow deliveries to the bloc due to production problems. Analysis: "Russian roulette" in Europe as needle shortages hamper COVID-19 shots

Laurent Fignon, a geriatric doctor in the south of France, is having to improvise as he gives shots of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech to care home residents and health staff because supplies of the right needles and syringes are short. Getting the full six doses from vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot – as allowed this month by the European Union's health regulator – requires needles that are both thin enough to minimize waste and long enough to deliver the jab, as required, into the recipient's shoulder muscle. India's vaccination platform readied to handle 10 million shots daily: official

The digital platform anchoring India's massive COVID-19 vaccination drive will be able to handle up to 10 million shots daily to meet the country's target of covering 300 million people by July-August, a government official told Reuters. India, which has the world's second-highest number of coronavirus cases, is relying on CoWIN to link beneficiaries with vaccines in what the government touts as the biggest inoculation campaign anywhere. A French woman declines COVID-19 vaccine for her sick father

Fabienne Garbo's father suffers from an illness similar to Alzheimer's and was eligible for a COVID-19 shot as soon as France started vaccinating care home residents. But she has not signed the consent form. Claude Garbo, 86, frequently fails to recognise his daughter and struggles to converse, reacting at times to German words after a life mostly spent in France's eastern Lorraine region. Russia says test for UK coronavirus variant to be available soon - TASS

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko on Friday said a test system for detecting the coronavirus variant discovered in the UK will soon be available for medical institutions, the TASS news agency reported. Russia has suspended flights to and from Britain until Feb. 1. The ban has been in place since Dec. 22. U.S. COVID vaccine hopeful using Gates Foundation cash to prepare for human trial

Scientists who normally focus on fixing defective genes said on Friday that up to $2.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help them move their COVID-19 vaccine candidate toward 2021 human trials. Harvard University scientist Luk Vandenberghe and University of Pennsylvania gene therapy head James Wilson said primate safety and efficacy tests have proven promising for their single-dose candidate, targeted for room-temperature storage. First known U.S. cases of potent South African COVID-19 variant found in South Carolina

A potent coronavirus variant originating in South Africa and found to be partly resistant to current vaccines and antibody treatments has been detected for the first time in the United States in two South Carolina patients, health officials said on Thursday. Medical experts said arrival of the so-called South African variant presented an alarming new challenge in efforts to contain a raging pandemic that has claimed at least 430,000 American lives in 11 months, as authorities struggle to launch the largest mass-vaccination campaign in U.S. history.