Reuters Health News Summary

AstraZeneca vaccine safe and effective in new trial data AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in Chile, Peru and the United States, the company said on Monday, paving the way for it to apply for U.S. approval.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Hungary approves new Chinese vaccine, and CoviShield for emergency use

Hungary is the first European Union (EU) country to approve for emergency use China's CanSino Biologics coronavirus vaccine and CoviShield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca shot, the Hungarian surgeon general said on Monday. New infections are surging in Hungary in a third wave of the pandemic, even as vaccine import and usage rates are among the highest in the EU with the country using Chinese and Russian vaccines as well as Western ones. Pakistan to start private imports of CanSino COVID-19 vaccine for sale

A private company in Pakistan will begin receiving shipments of China's CanSino Biologics COVID-19 vaccine this week for commercial sale, an official at the company's local partner told Reuters on Monday. Pakistan, one of the first countries in the world to allow private imports of COVID-19 vaccines, has already received a batch of the Russian Sputnik vaccine. AstraZeneca U.S. trial data a confidence booster for COVID-19 shot

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine performed better than expected in a major late-stage trial potentially paving the way for its emergency authorization in the United States and bolstering confidence in the shot after numerous setbacks in Europe. The drugmaker said on Monday that trials in Chile, Peru and the United States found the vaccine, developed in conjunction with Oxford University, was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and, crucially, posed no increased risk of blood clots. It intends to request U.S. emergency authorization in coming weeks. AstraZeneca vaccine safe and effective in new trial data

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in Chile, Peru and the United States, the company said on Monday, paving the way for it to apply for U.S. approval. The vaccine was also 100% effective against severe or critical disease and hospitalisation, and was safe, the partners said on Monday, releasing results of the late-stage human trial study of more than 32,000 volunteers across all age groups. As vaccine battle with UK deepens, EU blames AstraZeneca

Britain on Monday demanded that the European Union allow the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines it has ordered as tensions over a possible ban on EU-manufactured shots mounted, but Brussels said drugmaker AstraZeneca was to blame. "The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame," said an EU official. "It's about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity. AstraZeneca has to deliver doses to its EU customers." Second virus surge grips India on first anniversary of lockdown

India's richest state, Maharashtra, reported 30,535 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, which could send the country's overall cases to a multi-month high when national data is released later on Monday. A year ago, India had observed what Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a people's curfew, marking the start of a chaotic nationwide lockdown in a bid to contain the virus. With 11.6 million cases, India is now the worst-affected country after the United States and Brazil. Germany agrees to more wild boar hunting to combat swine fever

The governments of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed that intensified hunting of wild boar is needed to combat an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) among wild animals, Germany's agriculture ministry said on Monday. Asian countries including China banned German pork imports in September 2020 after ASF was found in wild boar in east Germany, not farm animals, causing falling pig prices. China mulls bringing e-cigarette regulation in line with traditional tobacco products

Two of China's regulators plan to bring the rules governing the sale of e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products in line with those for ordinary cigarettes. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, posted online the draft regulations that could potentially curb a fast-growing industry. South African business group calls for vaccine focus on elderly

A South African business lobby group called on Monday for the government to shift the emphasis on its vaccine programme to target the elderly and vulnerable sooner, to prevent hospitals being overrun in a third wave of COVID-19 infections. South Africa is behind schedule in the first phase of its vaccination programme, aimed at inoculating health care workers. Those over 60 or with co-morbidities are not meant to be vaccinated until a later second phase, along with other essential workers and people who work in crowded settings. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: AstraZeneca's new trial data gives vaccine a boost

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)