Health News Roundup: Ukraine approves Chinese vaccine; Turkey records 44,756 new COVID-19 cases and more

Ukraine approves Chinese vaccine as COVID-19 cases hit new record high Ukraine has approved China's Sinovac vaccine to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the health ministry said on Saturday, after the country recorded a record rise in new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Ukraine approves Chinese vaccine as COVID-19 cases hit new record high

Ukraine has approved China's Sinovac vaccine to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the health ministry said on Saturday after the country recorded a record rise in new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row. Ukraine received its first batch of 215,000 Sinovac doses in March to boost its vaccination program, which has lagged behind many other European countries and it has so far relied on a single batch of AstraZeneca vaccines from India.

Turkey records 44,756 new coronavirus cases, highest level yet -ministry

Turkey recorded 44,756 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Saturday, the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic. Turkey currently ranks fifth globally for most daily cases based on a seven-day average, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. administers 161.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 161,688,422 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 207,866,645 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The tally is for Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson'S vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, the agency said.

U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine removes AstraZeneca

The United States has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday. J&J said it was "assuming full responsibility" of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.

UK says 5 million get second shot as COVID daily deaths fall to 10

Britain reported 10 deaths from COVID-19 within 28 days of a positive test on Saturday, the lowest daily figure since early September, as its vaccine rollout reached another milestone. Official data also showed 31,301,267 people had received their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, with five million now having had both doses in what is the fastest rollout in Europe.

Australia to continue AstraZeneca vaccination despite blood clotting case

Australia will continue its inoculation program with AstraZeneca PLC, health officials said on Saturday, after a blood clotting case raised concern about the safety of the vaccine. A 44-year-old man was admitted to a Melbourne hospital with clotting, days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, suffering serious thrombosis, a condition that prevents normal blood flow through the circulatory system.

Mainland China reports 21 coronavirus cases vs 26 a day earlier

Mainland China reported 21 new COVID-19 cases for April 3, down from 26 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Sunday. In a statement, the National Health Commission said 10 of the new confirmed cases were local transmissions in the southwestern Yunnan province.

Philippines' Duterte extends coronavirus curbs in capital, nearby provinces

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has extended a strict lockdown in the capital region and adjacent provinces by at least one week to try to contain a renewed surge in coronavirus infections, his spokesman said on Saturday. The Philippines, which has the second-highest COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, reported 12,576 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, putting further strain on the healthcare system.

Italy reports 376 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 21,261 new cases

Italy reported 376 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 481 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 21,261 from 21,932. Italy has registered 110,704 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world.

France reports further rise in COVID-19 intensive care patients

France reported on Saturday that 5,273 people were in intensive care units (ICU) for COVID-19, a rise of 19 from the previous day, as the country entered its third national lockdown to help combat the pandemic. The government had been trying to keep the lid on new COVID cases with curfews and regional measures but from Saturday, and for the next four weeks, schools and non-essential businesses across the country will remain shut.