Health News Roundup: UK says 4,000 variants of virus that causes COVID-19 around the world; Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen and more

"Its very unlikley that the current vaccine won't be effective on the variants whether in Kent or other variants especially when it comes to severe illness and hospitalisation," Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky. Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen Britain on Thursday launched a trial to assess the immune responses generated if doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are combined in a two-shot schedule.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK says 4,000 variants of virus that causes COVID-19 around the world

There are around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 around the world now so all vaccine manufacturers including Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are trying to improve their vaccines, a British minister said. "Its very unlikley that the current vaccine won't be effective on the variants whether in Kent or other variants especially when it comes to severe illness and hospitalisation," Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky.

Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen

Britain on Thursday launched a trial to assess the immune responses generated if doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are combined in a two-shot schedule. The British researchers behind the trial said data on vaccinating people with the two different types of coronavirus vaccines could help understanding of whether shots can be rolled out with greater flexibility around the world. Initial data on immune responses is expected to be generated around June.

New vaccine sites in urban California to tackle COVID-19 disparities

New vaccination centers are to open this month in the heart of two urban California communities especially hard hit by the coronavirus, as state and federal officials try to tackle racial and economic disparities hindering U.S. immunization efforts. Joint plans to launch the two sites on Feb. 16, at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland and the California State University campus in east Los Angeles, were detailed separately on Wednesday by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Biden administration's COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients.

China bat caves need exploring in search for COVID origins, WHO team member says

A member of the World Health Organization-led team searching for clues to the origins of COVID-19 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said work was needed to try to trace genetic elements of the virus in bat caves. Peter Daszak, a zoologist and animal disease expert, said the team in Wuhan had been receiving new information about how the virus, first identified in the city in late 2019, led to a pandemic. He did not elaborate but said there was no evidence to suggest it emerged from a lab.

France's Macron aims to tackle tobacco and alcohol in 10-year cancer plan

French President Emmanuel Macron wants the generation that will turn 20 in 2030 to be the first tobacco-free one, and also promised on Thursday to do more to warn about the dangers of alcohol, as part of a 10-year strategy to fight cancer. Macron told the French Cancer National Institute - a public entity coordinating scientific research on cancer - that the government would dedicate 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) to the cause over the next five years, a increase of 20% compared to the 2016-2021 period.

Vaccine passports: path back to normality or problem in the making?

Governments and developers around the world are exploring the potential use of "vaccine passports" as a way of reopening the economy by identifying those protected against the coronavirus. Those developing the technologies however, say such tools come with consequences such as potentially excluding whole groups from social participation, and are urging lawmakers to think seriously about how they are used. Thailand to get vaccine from Asia after EU export control, minister says

Thailand will import the first doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine from Asia after Europe enforced export controls, the country's health minister said on Thursday. The European Union (EU) last week set restrictions on the export of vaccines from the bloc through to March to ensure it will secure the supplies it had bought in advance, including shots from AstraZeneca Plc. EU drugs watchdog conducts COVID-19 vaccine, treatment collaboration program

Europe's drugs regulator said on Thursday it had started a program in December to share COVID-19 vaccine and treatment expertise with regulators not part of the European Union, collaborating with them to understand decisions around potential shots or medicines. Authorities from Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been participating in the pilot program under permanent confidentiality arrangements, the European Medicines Agency said. (https://bit.ly/3awkJWC) What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: More people vaccinated than total cases to date Taiwan says to get share of 1.3 million vaccines via COVAX

Taiwan will get a share of 1.3 million COVID-19 vaccine shots produced by AstraZeneca Plc from the COVAX global vaccine programme, the government said on Thursday, but without providing a timeframe or further details. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention, with only 71 active cases, but it has not yet received any vaccines.