Reuters Health News Summary

The South American country has to date received three million doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus, namely the Sputnik V and Sinopharm shots from political allies Russia and China. Indian states begin easing COVID lockdowns as case numbers decline Some of India's states are easing lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections subside, with the world's second most-populous nation on Saturday logging its lowest daily case count in nearly two months.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. administers 300.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 300,268,730 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country and distributed 371,520,975 doses as of Saturday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 299,120,522 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by June 4 out of 369,159,075 doses delivered.

U.S. authorizes Regeneron's COVID-19 antibody therapy for injection

The U.S. health regulator authorized a lower dose of Regeneron Pharmaceutical's COVID-19 antibody cocktail that can be given by injection, a move that could ease logistical challenges stemming from administering a higher dose intravenously. The therapy, REGEN-COV, and a similar treatment developed by rival Eli Lilly were being given through one-time infusion and required patients to be isolated.

Taiwan says it is discussing making COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. firms

Taiwan is in talks with U.S. companies about making their COVID-19 vaccines, following similar talks with European firms, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Saturday. Taiwan, like much of the world, has been trying to speed up its vaccination programme following a spike in domestic cases, but has been stymied by global supply shortages.

U.S. CDC director urges teens to get vaccinated after hospitalizations rise

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director urged teenagers to get vaccinated, as new data from the agency's researchers showed one in three teenagers who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 early this year needed ICU admission. "I am deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Friday.

Italy reports 57 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 2,436 new cases

Italy reported 57 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 73 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 2,436 from 2,557. Italy has registered 126,472 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eight-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.23 million cases to date.

Australia's Victoria state reports five new COVID-19 cases, Delta cluster grows

Australia's second-most populous state Victoria on Saturday reported a small increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases as authorities hunted for the source of a highly infectious variant that has been detected in a new cluster. Five new local cases were reported, taking Victoria's total to 70 in the latest outbreak, including one recovered case, as the state capital Melbourne entered its second weekend of a hard lockdown, due to end on June 10. Curbs were eased for the rest of the state on Friday.

China's Guangzhou city imposes more COVID-19 prevention measures

Authorities in the southern Chinese industrial hub of Guangzhou on Saturday imposed more restrictions on business and social activity, seeking to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases. The city's Nansha, Huadu and Conghua districts have ordered all residents and any individuals who have travelled through their areas to be tested for the coronavirus.

U.S. encouraged by progress toward vaccine patent waiver

Progress is being made towards a deal on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Saturday. Tai pointed to a revised proposal from the original proponents of the waiver, led by India and South Africa, as well as principles the European Union has come up with to guide how they would like to negotiate the issues.

Venezuela to purchase and manufacture Russia's EpiVacCorona vaccine

Venezuela has reached a deal to purchase doses of Russia's EpiVacCorona vaccine, as well as manufacture the inoculation locally, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said late on Friday. The South American country has to date received three million doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus, namely the Sputnik V and Sinopharm shots from political allies Russia and China.

Indian states begin easing COVID lockdowns as case numbers decline

Some of India's states are easing lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections subside, with the world's second most-populous nation on Saturday logging its lowest daily case count in nearly two months. The national capital territory of Delhi, the seat of India's federal government, was among those relaxing restrictions and will allow shops to open on alternate days. Shops with even numbers will open on one day while those with odd numbers will open the next day. Private offices will also now be allowed to operate at 50% of normal staffing levels.

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