Reuters Health News Summary

UK says it expects no vaccine interruption from EU; Brussels admits Irish 'blunder' EU officials confessed on Saturday to a "blunder" in invoking Northern Ireland Brexit emergency powers during a showdown with Britain over vaccines, and London said it expected its supply of COVID-19 shots would not be interrupted.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. UK says it expects no vaccine interruption from EU; Brussels admits Irish 'blunder'

EU officials confessed on Saturday to a "blunder" in invoking Northern Ireland Brexit emergency powers during a showdown with Britain over vaccines, and London said it expected its supply of COVID-19 shots would not be interrupted. The European Union has fallen far behind Britain and the United States in the race to vaccinate its public. It announced on Friday it would impose export controls on vaccines, widely seen as a threat to prevent doses from being sent to Britain. WHO team, on tightly controlled China mission, visits hospital

The World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of COVID-19 during a mission that has been tightly controlled by its Chinese hosts visited a hospital on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan that treated early coronavirus patients. On its second day after two weeks in quarantine, the team went to Jinyintan Hospital, where doctors had collected samples from patients suffering from an unidentified pneumonia in late 2019. Vietnam reports 34 new COVID-19 cases, speeds up vaccine procurement

Vietnam reported 34 new COVID-19 infections early on Saturday in its latest coronavirus outbreak, and seeks to accelerate procurement of vaccines. Of the new cases, 32 were detected in Hai Duong province, the epicentre, and two in neighbouring Quang Ninh province, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. It added that the country has recorded more than 1,700 cases since the disease was detected a year ago, including 873 locally transmitted infections. Iran imposes mandatory quarantine for travellers from Europe

Travellers to Iran from Europe will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks after testing negative upon arrival, a health official said on Saturday. Travellers from other regions, including neighbouring countries, will have to have tested negative before arrival in the country, Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the national coronavirus task force, said on state TV. Cuba to quarantine travelers amid COVID-19 surge

Most travelers entering Cuba as of Feb. 6 will be quarantined for up to a week, the government announced on Saturday, and flights from the United States and some other countries reduced to no more than one per week per airline. Tourists will have to remain in hotels at their own expense and residents in special centers free of charge until a test at five days comes back negative. Germany is already ordering vaccines for 2022, minister says

Germany is ordering vaccines for 2022 in case regular or booster doses are needed to keep the population immune against variants of COVID-19, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Saturday, amid growing frustration in Europe at the slow pace of vaccination. Speaking at an online town hall of healthcare workers, Spahn defended the progress made on procuring and administering vaccines, saying 2.3 million of Germany's 83 million people had already received a dose. Fresh data show toll South African virus variant takes on vaccine efficacy

Clinical trial data on two COVID-19 vaccines show that a coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa is lessening their ability to protect against the illness, underscoring the need to vaccinate vast numbers of people as quickly as possible, scientists said. The vaccines from Novavax Inc and Johnson & Johnson were welcomed as important future weapons in curbing deaths and hospitalizations in a pandemic that has infected more than 101 million people and claimed over 2 million lives worldwide. Portugal close to running out of ICU beds for COVID patients

Portugal said on Saturday it only had seven vacant beds left in intensive care units (ICUs) set up for COVID-19 cases on its mainland, as a surge in infections prompted the authorities to send some critical patients to Portuguese islands. Health Ministry data showed that, out of 850 ICU beds allocated to COVID-19 cases on its mainland, a record 843 beds were now occupied. The nation of 10 million people has an additional 420 ICU beds for those with other ailments. Italy's medicines agency approves AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine

Italy's medicines regulator AIFA said on Saturday it had approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, a day after the green light by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It recommended preferential use of the vaccine for adults aged 55 and under. After outcry, EU reverses plan to restrict vaccine exports through Irish border

The European Union on Friday abruptly reversed a plan to use emergency Brexit measures to restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccines from crossing the Irish border into the United Kingdom after it sent shockwaves through Northern Ireland, London and Dublin. In a steep escalation of the EU's fight to secure vaccine supplies, Brussels had said it would trigger clauses in the Northern Irish Protocol to prevent the vaccines from moving across the open border between EU-member Ireland and the British-run province.