Health News Roundup: Texas hospitals more than COVID-19 did; Argentina's new health minister pledges fair vaccine and more

Australian PM Morrison gets COVID-19 vaccine in 'massive step' toward normal Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday, calling the start of the nation's vaccination programme a "massive step" that will enable it to return to normal.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Cold, lack of water overwhelm Texas hospitals more than COVID-19 did

Texas doctor Natasha Kathuria has practiced medicine in 11 countries, worked through the 2014 "Snowmageddon" storm that ground Atlanta to a halt, and survived the past year's COVID-19 pandemic crush. But Kathuria and some other doctors in Texas are saying they have never seen a more harrowing week than this one.

Argentina's new health minister pledges fair vaccine access after scandal

Argentina's new Health Minister Carla Vizzotti was sworn in on Saturday after the country was rattled by a scandal over VIP coronavirus vaccine access, pledging to strengthen oversight and transparency of the inoculation program. Her predecessor stepped down on Friday after reports that people had been able to use connections to get priority access to COVID-19 vaccines, piling pressure on the center-left government of President Alberto Fernandez.

U.S. administers 61.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC

The United States has administered 61,289,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday morning and delivered 79,128,495 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, the agency said.

Ireland won't consider re-opening hospitality before mid-summer: PM

Ireland will not consider re-opening its hospitality sector before mid-summer due to the high level of COVID-19 infections in the country, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said on Saturday. Bars, restaurants, cafes and hotels have been closed in Ireland for much of the past 12 months, with the latest national lockdown in place since late December.

WHO's Tedros says he still has no details from Tanzania on its COVID response

The World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Sunday the organization has yet to receive any information from Tanzania on what measures it is taking to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. "This situation remains very concerning. I renew my call for Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases and share data," Tedros said in a statement on WHO's website.

Britain to offer all adults a COVID-19 vaccine by end of July

All adults in Britain will be offered a first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday ahead of a planned announcement on the cautious reopening of the economy from lockdown. Johnson will set out a roadmap to ease England's third national lockdown on Monday, having met a target to vaccinate 15 million Britons from higher-risk categories by mid-February.

Israel starts reopening as number of COVID vaccinees nears 50%

Israel reopened swathes of its economy on Sunday in what it called the start of a return to routine enabled by a COVID-19 vaccination drive that has reached almost half the population. While shops were open to all, access to leisure sites like gyms and theatres was limited to vaccinees or those who have recovered from the disease with presumed immunity, a so-called "Green Pass" status displayed on a special Health Ministry app.

Malaysia to start COVID-19 vaccination drive early as first doses arrive

Malaysia moved up its COVID-19 inoculation drive by two days as the first batch of vaccines arrived in the Southeast Asian nation on Sunday. Malaysia aims to vaccinate at least 80% of its 32 million people within a year as it pushes to revive an economy that, slammed by coronavirus-related curbs, recorded its worst slump in over two decades in 2020.

Russia reports world's first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu

Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named A(H5N8) being passed to humans from birds and has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO), Anna Popova, head of consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday. Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months but so far only in poultry. Other strains - H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 - have been known https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(avian-and-other-zoonotic) to spread to humans.

Australian PM Morrison gets COVID-19 vaccine in 'massive step' toward normal

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday, calling the start of the nation's vaccination programme a "massive step" that will enable it to return to normal. Up to 4 million Australians are expected to be inoculated by March, with Morrison among a small group receiving the first round of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

(With inputs from agencies.)