Health News Roundup: UK says 4,000 variants of virus that causes COVID-19 around the world; Panama seeks 3 million doses of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine and more

Random testing on people in Japan's capital in December showed that 0.91% had antibodies to the virus, compared with about 0.1% in a similar study in June, health ministry said in a report on Friday 57.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 35.2 million administered: U.S. CDC The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 35,203,710 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 57,489,675 doses. The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, the agency said.

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.

Panama seeks 3 million doses of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine - letter

Panama's government is seeking 3 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 for 1.5 million people, hoping to receive them by March, a letter of intent signed by the country's Health Ministry showed. The Central American nation has one of the highest numbers of confirmed infections in the region and said recently it had allocated $56 million to purchase a total of 5.5 million doses for about 80% of its population. It was not immediately clear if Sputnik V was part of that allocation.

South Korean advisory board cautions use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for elderly

A South Korean advisory board has recommended caution over the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 65 due to the lack of sufficient data, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Friday. When approved, it will be the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use in Asia's fourth-largest economy, which has been trying to contain the latest wave of infections.

COVID-19 infections in Tokyo may have jumped nine-fold, antibody survey shows

The number of COVID-19 infections in Tokyo may have jumped by nine-fold since last summer, coronavirus antibody tests showed, as Japan tries to rein in the country's third and most lethal wave of the pandemic ahead of the Olympics in July.

Random testing on people in Japan's capital in December showed that 0.91% had antibodies to the virus, compared with about 0.1% in a similar study in June, the health ministry said in a report on Friday

57.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 35.2 million administered: U.S. CDC The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 35,203,710 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 57,489,675 doses.

The tally of vaccine doses is for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, the agency said. J&J files COVID-19 vaccine application with U.S. FDA

Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it has asked U.S. health regulators to authorize its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, and it will apply to European authorities in the coming weeks. The drugmaker's application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follows its Jan. 29 report in which it said the vaccine had a 66% rate of preventing infections in its large global trial. China reports 20 new COVID-19 cases vs 30 a day earlier

China reported 20 new COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Feb. 4, official data showed on Friday, down from 30 a day earlier. The National Health Commission said in a statement that six of the new cases were locally transmitted, down from 17 a day earlier. New asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, stood at 28, up from 12. High levels of toxic heavy metals found in some baby food: U.S. report

U.S. congressional investigators found "dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals" in certain baby foods that could cause neurological damage, a House Oversight subcommittee said in a report released on Thursday in calling for new standards and testing requirements. The panel examined products made by Nurture Inc, Hain Celestial Group Inc, Beech-Nut Nutrition and Gerber, a unit of Nestle, it said, adding that it was "greatly concerned" that Walmart Inc, Campbell Soup Co, and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the investigation. The U.S. baby food market was worth an estimated $8 billion in 2020, according to Euromonitor.

Brazil's top prosecutor probes Bolsonaro over Manaus COVID-19 outbreak

Brazil's prosecutor-general has opened a preliminary investigation into its president and health minister for possible negligence in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Manaus city, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday. Located deep in the Amazon rainforest, Manaus has been hit hard by a brutal second wave of virus infection that has pushed its emergency services to their breaking point. The city ran out of oxygen in January, prompting the federal government to fly in tanks from across the country in an attempt to save people from suffocating to death.

U.S. FDA gearing up for rapid review of potential COVID-19 booster shots

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning a rapid review process for quick turnaround of new COVID-19 booster shots if variants of the coronavirus emerge against which the vaccines do not provide protection, the agency's top official said on Thursday. Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said that if new variants of the coronavirus emerge that require booster shots or changes to vaccines, the agency will not require the type of large trials that were required for emergency use authorization or approval.