Health News Roundup: China bid to stop Wuhan COVID-19 spread; Thailand receives its first coronavirus vaccines and more

Malaysia launches COVID-19 vaccination drive as PM gets first shot Malaysia on Wednesday launched its COVID-19 inoculation programme, which authorities hope will rein in a spike in infections and help revive an economy that recorded its worst slump in over two decades last year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China's bid to stop Wuhan COVID-19 spread cut deaths elsewhere from other causes: study

The number of deaths in China - excluding the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan - fell slightly during the first three months of 2020, suggesting efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 reduced deaths from other causes, a new study showed. Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), analysed official death registry data from Jan. 1 to March 31 last year for changes in overall and cause-specific deaths.

Thailand receives its first coronavirus vaccines

Thailand received on Wednesday its first 200,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac, the country's first batch of coronavirus vaccines, with inoculations set to begin in a few days. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to be among the first to receive the vaccine this weekend. Most doses have been reserved for frontline medical workers.

Malaysia launches COVID-19 vaccination drive as PM gets first shot

Malaysia on Wednesday launched its COVID-19 inoculation programme, which authorities hope will rein in a spike in infections and help revive an economy that recorded its worst slump in over two decades last year. Malaysia has set an ambitious target of vaccinating at least 80% of its 32 million people by February next year.

Denmark to take 'calculated risk' by easing COVID curbs in March

Denmark plans to allow shops and some schools to reopen in March in a much awaited move that could however send hospital coronavirus admissions soaring in coming months. Denmark, which has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, has seen general infection numbers drop after it introduced lockdown measures in December in a bid to curb a more contagious coronavirus variant.

Germany approves COVID home tests to ease way out of lockdown

Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part Health Minister Jens Spahn's strategy to help Europe's biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December. The infection rate in Germany fell steadily in the first weeks of the year but has stagnated in recent days, making it more difficult for leaders to ease restrictions when they meet next week to consider lockdown rules that run to March 7.

British vaccine minister says confident in supply from manufacturers

Britain has confidence in its supply of COVID-19 vaccines and has good visibility on future supplies thanks to regular contacts with manufacturers over timetables for deliveries, the minister responsible for rolling out shots said on Wednesday. "We have real confidence in our supply and our visibility of supply," Nadhim Zahawi told lawmakers.

India warns of worsening COVID-19 situation, vaccinations to expand

India announced an expansion of its vaccination programme on Wednesday but warned that breaches of coronavirus protocols could worsen an infection surge in many states. Nearly a month after the health minister declared that COVID-19 had been contained, states such as Maharashtra in the west and Kerala in the south have reported a surge in cases, as reluctance grows over mask-wearing and social distancing.

Exhausted by COVID-19 fight, Portuguese nurses want pay not applause

At midnight nurse Ines Lopes and her colleagues are about to start the night shift taking care of patients in a COVID-19 intensive care unit in the heart of Lisbon. Nursing is a job they love but it barely pays the bills. Politicians, celebrities and people across Portugal have spent much of the coronavirus pandemic praising frontline health workers, sometimes emerging from their homes to clap and cheer on the medics.

First COVID-19 vaccine doses dispatched by COVAX arrive in Ghana

The World Health Organization's global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX delivered its first COVID-19 shots on Wednesday, as the race to get doses to the world's poorest people and tame the pandemic accelerates. Almost a year after the WHO first described the novel coronavirus as a global pandemic, a flight carrying 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India landed in Ghana's capital Accra.

Egypt registers Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

Egypt has approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the 34th country outside of Russia and third in North Africa to do so, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement on Wednesday. RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said Sputnik V had been approved by the Egyptian Drug Authority using an emergency use authorisation procedure. Tunisia and Algeria have already approved the shot.

(With inputs from agencies.)