Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Japanese PM, Pfizer CEO discuss delivery of additional vaccine doses in 2021 to Japan Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan this year, Nikkei reported.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Japanese PM, Pfizer CEO discuss delivery of additional vaccine doses in 2021 to Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan this year, Nikkei reported. Pfizer confirmed in an email that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla met with Suga virtually to discuss vaccine supply on the last day of Suga's three-day visit to Washington. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved in Japan.

U.S. administers 205.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines

The United States has administered 205,871,913 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 264,499,715 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. Those figures are up from the 202,282,923 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by April 16 out of 258,502,815 doses delivered.

India reports another record daily rise in coronavirus infections

India reported a record daily increase of 261,500 coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday. Total cases reached nearly 14.8 million, second only to the United States which has reported more than 31 million infections.

Australia, largely free of COVID-19, in no hurry to reopen borders - PM

Australia is no hurry to reopen its international borders and risk the country's nearly coronavirus-free lifestyle, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. Australia closed its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents in March 2020 and has been permitting only limited international arrivals in recent months, mainly its citizens returning from abroad.

UK delivers more than 600,000 vaccines in 24 hours

More than 600,000 first and second doses of coronavirus vaccine were administered in Britain in the space of 24 hours, according to data released on Saturday. Official figures showed that 119,306 first doses were given on Friday, and 485,421 second doses. The data also showed a further 35 people had died from the virus within 28 days of a positive test, and 2,206 people had tested positive.

Number of COVID-19 patients in French intensive care falls again

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units in France has fallen and the number of patients in hospital has also dropped, the health ministry said on Saturday, in a sign that pressure on the medical system is easing. Health ministry data showed that 5,877 people were in intensive care units with COVID-19 on Saturday, 37 fewer than on Friday. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital fell by 143 to 30,329, the fifth consecutive fall.

Italy reports 310 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 15,370 new cases

Italy reported 310 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 429 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections edged down to 15,370 from 15,943. Italy has registered 116,676 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. The country has reported 3.857 million cases to date.

Canada has second case of rare blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccine

Canada on Saturday reported a second case of rare blood clots with low platelets after immunization with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in a week, while it said it still recommended the use of the shot. The person who experienced the very rare event has been treated and is recovering, Canada's health ministry said in a statement, adding that the person lives in the province of Alberta.

South Africa regulator recommends lifting J&J vaccine pause after some conditions

South Africa's health regulator, on Saturday, recommended that the government lift the pause on administering drugmaker Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines, given that certain conditions are met. "These conditions include, but are not limited to, strengthened screening and monitoring of participants who are at high risk of a blood clotting disorder," the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said.

Pfizer agreed to supply additional COVID-19 vaccines, says Japan's vaccine minister

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has agreed to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's request to supply additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccine minister of Japan said on Sunday. "They have agreed on the essentials of the matter," vaccine tzar Taro Kono said during a live interview on Fuji TV, adding that further details including the shipment schedule will be discussed.