Health News Roundup: Spain's COVID-19 cases jump by 12,345 despite record vaccination; Britain's COVID-19 cases up 72% in past week and more

Not allowed to see them in person, and like many Bolivians not having enough internet bandwidth at home, Lagos is taking advantage of an innovative new idea: a video call booth at the hospital's entrance, which connects patients inside with their loved ones. Spain's COVID-19 cases jump by 12,345 despite record vaccination Spain reported 12,345 new coronavirus infections and eight deaths on Thursday, with health ministry data showing daily increases this week at their highest levels since mid-April, in part due to the more contagious Delta variant.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. administers over 328 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States had administered 328,152,304 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 382,283,990 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 326,521,526 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by June 30 out of 381,949,830 doses delivered.

CureVac says speaking to EU about ideal region to use vaccine

Curevac said it was in discussions with its prospective customer, the European Union, about where in the world to best deploy its experimental COVID-19 vaccine if it wins approval. Under CureVac's only major supply deal, the European Union last year secured up to 405 million doses of the vaccine in November, of which 180 million doses were optional.

S.African medics threaten court action as staff shortages hit COVID response

The South African Medical Association threatened on Thursday to take the government to court because scores of new junior doctors cannot find placements despite staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAMA said it was "scandalous" that, during a third wave of infections, 228 medical interns who graduated in March and April were waiting for the government to place them at public hospitals to complete their training.

Sick as a dog? Pets often catch COVID from humans, study finds

If you think you have COVID-19, it might be best to stay away from your pets, says the author of a Dutch study that found a surprising number of dogs and cats may be getting infected. "About one out of five pets will catch the disease from their owners," said Dr Els Broens of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, although there are no known cases of the disease spreading from pets to humans.

In soccer host city, Russian doctors battle COVID-19 surge

Doctors battling record numbers of COVID-19 deaths in St. Petersburg are watching with unease as soccer fans gather for the next Euro 2020 match to be played at one of its stadiums. Russia's second city, which reported more than 100 deaths per day this week, hosts the quarter-final between Spain and Switzerland on Friday. It is the city's seventh Euro 2020 match.

Public Health England: AstraZeneca COVID shot 94% protective against death in over 65s

Two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine gives an estimated 94% protection against death from the disease in people over 65, Public Health England said on Thursday in a weekly surveillance report of real-world data. PHE said the majority of the data was derived from a period when the Alpha variant, first detected in England, was still dominant and did not provide a specific estimate of protection from death that the vaccine offered against the now more widespread Delta variant, first detected in India.

Bolivian hospital connects COVID-19 patients and loved ones with virtual visits

Ruth Lagos has come to the Cotahuma Municipal Hospital in the highland Bolivian city of La Paz for a "virtual" visit with her mother and father who are being treated for COVID-19. Not allowed to see them in person, and like many Bolivians not having enough internet bandwidth at home, Lagos is taking advantage of an innovative new idea: a video call booth at the hospital's entrance, which connects patients inside with their loved ones.

Spain's COVID-19 cases jump by 12,345 despite record vaccination

Spain reported 12,345 new coronavirus infections and eight deaths on Thursday, with health ministry data showing daily increases this week at their highest levels since mid-April, in part due to the more contagious Delta variant. The infection rate measured over the past 14 days rose to 134 cases per 100,000 people from 117 on Wednesday, accelerating a rise that began in mid-June after the rate hit its lowest level since August, of about 90 cases per 100,000.

Britain's COVID-19 cases up 72% in past week

Britain reported 27,989 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Thursday, the highest number since Jan. 29 and taking the rise in cases between June 25 and July 1 to nearly 72% compared with the previous seven days. A further 22 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day rise to just under 11%.

Euro soccer tournament under fire for helping spread COVID-19

The Euro 2020 soccer tournament was on Thursday blamed for a surge in coronavirus cases as fans have flocked to stadiums, bars and spectator zones across Europe to watch the action while the pandemic still raged. Germany's interior minister called European soccer's governing body UEFA "utterly irresponsible" for allowing big crowds at the tournament.