Health News Roundup: India's coronavirus infections cross 18 million; China reports 20 new mainland COVID-19 cases and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

EU demands immediate access to UK-made vaccines in AstraZeneca legal battle

European Union lawyers on Wednesday demanded AstraZeneca immediately deliver COVID-19 vaccines from its factories in Britain, in a move that risks reigniting a spat with London over scarce vaccine supplies. The call came in the opening hearing of the European Commission's legal case in Brussels against the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker oversupply delays.

U.S. trade negotiator discusses COVID-19 IP waiver with Moderna CEO

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday met virtually with the top executive of drugmaker Moderna to discuss a proposed waiver of certain intellectual property rights in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tai's office said. Tai and Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel also discussed increasing vaccine production and global health issues, Tai's office said in a statement.

Britain orders 60 million Pfizer COVID-19 shots for booster programme

Britain will buy 60 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, health minister Matt Hancock said, in a deal that more than doubles the country's supply of the shot ahead of a booster program later this year. Britain has now ordered a total of 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, one of three COVID-19 shots being rolled out in the country.

Argentina pushes AstraZeneca on COVID-19 vaccine supply amid holdups

Argentina's government said on Wednesday that it met with representatives of drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to ask about "difficulties" in the production of its COVID-19 vaccine and supply it to the country. Health Minister Carla Vizzotti formally requested a report on the progress in the production and quality control of the vaccine that is partially being made in Argentina and completed in Mexico and the United States.

India's coronavirus infections cross 18 million

India reported on Thursday a record rise in coronavirus cases and deaths over the last 24 hours, with its overall caseload rising above 18 million. With 379,257 new cases and 3,645 new deaths, India's total number of cases and deaths are now at 18.38 million and 204,832, respectively, according to health ministry data.

EU report accuses Russia, China of sowing mistrust in Western vaccines

Russian and Chinese media are systematically seeking to sow mistrust in Western COVID-19 vaccines in their latest disinformation campaigns aimed at dividing the West, a European report said on Wednesday. From December to April, the two countries' state media outlets pushed fake news online in multiple languages sensationalizing vaccine safety concerns, making unfounded links between jabs and deaths in Europe, and promoting Russian and Chinese vaccines as superior, the EU study said.

U.S. to send more than $100 million in COVID supplies to India

The United States is sending supplies worth more than $100 million to India to help it fight a surge of COVID-19 cases, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. The supplies, which will begin arriving on Thursday and continue into next week, include 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks, and 1 million rapid diagnostic tests, the statement said.

Australia to investigate two deaths for possible links to COVID-19 vaccine

Australia's medicines regulator will investigate two deaths for possible links to the COVID-19 vaccine, raising fresh concerns as the country seeks to accelerate an immunization program that has widely missed its initial vaccination targets. "All reports ... of death following vaccination are reviewed to assess the likelihood that the vaccine contributed to the event or medical condition that led to a fatal outcome," the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said on Thursday.

Mexico plays down Sputnik vaccine delays after domestic production deal

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday played down delays in shipments of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine during a trip to Moscow where he worked out a deal to produce the shot domestically to speed up its rollout. Mexico has relied heavily on foreign vaccines, including Sputnik, to supplement its slow vaccination campaign, but delays have hampered efforts to cover its population of 126 million.

China reports 20 new mainland COVID-19 cases vs 12 a day earlier

China reported 20 new mainland COVID-19 cases on April 28, up from 12 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Thursday. The National Health Commission said in a statement that all of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 14 from 17 cases a day earlier.

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