Health News Roundup: EU has not yet ordered more AstraZeneca vaccines; India turns to ex-army medics and more

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 10 from eight a day earlier. South Africa picks up first cases of coronavirus variant from India South Africa's health ministry said on Saturday it had detected the first four cases of a new coronavirus variant that emerged in India and was responsible for a surge of infections and deaths in the Asian country.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

EU has not yet ordered more AstraZeneca vaccines, says internal market commissioner

hThe European Union has not yet made any new orders for AstraZeneca vaccines beyond June when their contract ends, European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Sunday. Breton also said he expected that the costs of the EU's recent order for more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines would be higher than the earlier versions.

India turns to ex-army medics as COVID surge sparks calls for lockdown

India is to recruit hundreds of former army medics to support its overwhelmed healthcare system, the defence ministry said on Sunday, as the country grapples with record COVID-19 infections and deaths amid angry calls for a complete nationwide lockdown. Some 400 medical officers are expected to serve on contract for a maximum of 11 months, the ministry said in a press release, adding that other defence doctors had also been roped in for online consultations.

Bangladesh detects first cases of Indian coronavirus variant

Bangladesh has detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India, the country's health directorate said on Saturday, prompting the government to keep its border sealed for another two weeks. Six cases of the Indian variant had been detected in Bangladesh, Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the health directorate, told reporters.

U.S. wants COVID vaccine patent waiver to benefit world, not boost China biotech

The Biden administration is examining ways to ensure that a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents to aid poor countries will not hand sensitive U.S. biopharmaceutical technology to China and Russia, responding to a chorus of concerns, U.S. and industry officials say. President Joe Biden on Wednesday backed the U.S. entering negotiations at the World Trade Organization for the waiver of intellectual property rights as a means to boost vaccine supplies by allowing poorer countries to make their own.

Russia reports 8,419 new COVID-19 cases, 334 deaths

Russia reported 8,419 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Sunday, taking the national tally to 4,880,262. The government coronavirus task force said 334 people had died in the last day, taking the national death toll to 113,326.

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

China reported 12 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland on May 8, up from seven a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Sunday. The National Health Commission said in a statement that all the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 10 from eight a day earlier.

South Africa picks up first cases of coronavirus variant from India

South Africa's health ministry said on Saturday it had detected the first four cases of a new coronavirus variant that emerged in India and was responsible for a surge of infections and deaths in the Asian country. Testing had also picked up 11 cases of the variant B.1.1.7 first detected in the UK, the health ministry said in a statement.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 12,656 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 12,656 to 3,520,329, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 127 to 84,775, the tally showed.

Australia's most populous state extends COVID restrictions in hunt for outbreak source

Australia's most populous state recorded no new COVID-19 infections for a third straight day on Sunday but extended raised social distancing and mask-wearing rules by a week as the authorities hunted for the source of a small outbreak. After a Sydney couple tested positive to the coronavirus last week, ending a long run without community transmission, the authorities reinstated some social distancing measures until May 10, and a campaign to get more people tested, as they scrambled to determine the source of infection.

China administered total of 317.59 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of May 8

China carried out about 9.36 million vaccinations against COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total number administered to 317.59 million, according to data released by the National Health Commission.

(With inputs from agencies.)