Health News Roundup: Greece to require vaccination or negative test at indoor restaurants; Indonesia reports record COVID-19 cases, orders oxygen supplies, and more

Daily infections had risen to 1,440 by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the country's highest daily tally of the pandemic and an eighth straight day of more than 1,000 cases, Yonhap news agency reported. Vietnam to mix doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines - govt Vietnam will offer the coronavirus mRNA vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, its government said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Greece to require vaccination or negative test at indoor restaurants

Greece will require customers at indoor restaurants, bars, and cafes to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative within the last three days, the government announced on Tuesday to combat an infection surge. Under the new regulations, which will remain in force until August, all customers at indoor bars and restaurants will have to be seated. Those dining outdoors will not require proof of vaccination or a test.

Indonesia reports record COVID-19 cases, orders oxygen supplies

Indonesia reported on Tuesday a record increase of coronavirus infections, as authorities unveiled plans to order liquid oxygen and tens of thousands of concentrators from abroad to treat patients suffering from respiratory disease. The Southeast Asian nation is fighting a devastating new virus outbreak fueled by the highly contagious delta variant that has stretched parts of the health system to breaking point.

S.Korea COVID-19 vaccine rollout grinds to halt as new cases hit a record high

South Korea's rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations to people aged 55-59 has stuttered to a week-long halt after a record high number of new cases sparked a rush for shots, exhausting available supplies and crashing an official reservation website.

The halt in vaccination appointments for people in the upper 50s age bracket came late on Monday, the first day that inoculation bookings were opened to under-60s. Daily infections had risen to 1,440 by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the country's highest daily tally of the pandemic and an eighth straight day of more than 1,000 cases, Yonhap news agency reported.

Vietnam to mix doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines - govt

Vietnam will offer the coronavirus mRNA vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, its government said on Tuesday. Vietnam's mass inoculation campaign is in its early stages, with less than 300,000 people fully vaccinated so far. It has so far used the AstraZeneca vaccine and last week took delivery of 97,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

Myanmar's COVID crisis worsens as mistrust of junta infects health system

When Ma Yati felt weak and feverish and lost her sense of smell, she had no doubt she had COVID-19. But even with up to 30 people a day dying of the coronavirus in her hometown of Kale in western Myanmar, she decided it was better to hole up in a room at home than get an official test or enter a quarantine center.

Dutch coronavirus reproduction rate jumps, mostly young adults infected

The Netherlands' coronavirus reproduction rate jumped to 2.17 on Tuesday, up from 1.37 a week earlier, health authorities said, amid a spike in infections in young adults. In a technical presentation to the Dutch parliament, the authorities added that the weekly infection rate had risen six-fold from a week earlier.

European efforts to assess Russia's Sputnik V vaccine stymied by data gaps

The developers of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process, according to five people with knowledge of European efforts to assess the drug, providing new insight into the country's struggle to win foreign acceptance of its product. Reuters reported last month that the European Medicines Agency (EMA)'s review of the drug's safety and efficacy was delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data on the vaccine's clinical trials was missed, according to one of those people, who is close to the agency, and another person familiar with the matter. The EMA is the European Union's medicines watchdog.

After vaccination burnout, Delta variant spurs countries to speed up shots

The daily pace of COVID vaccinations has increased in about a dozen countries due to the arrival of the more contagious Delta variant and governments expanding their vaccination drives, a data analysis by Reuters found. Israel's rate of vaccinations has seen a sharp pickup. The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Spain are all vaccinating at their fastest speed to date. Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Sweden are not far behind.

EU reviews J&J COVID-19 shot for rare nerve disorder after U.S. warning

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Tuesday it was analyzing data on rare cases of a nerve disorder reported among recipients of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine after the United States added a warning label to the shot. The "EMA's safety committee (PRAC) is analyzing data provided by (J&J) ... on cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) reported following vaccination," the European medicines regulator said in a statement to Reuters. "PRAC has requested (Johnson & Johnson) to provide further detailed data."

In India's remote Sundarbans, boats full of vaccines bring hope

For Deepak Jena, a laborer on a remote island in the Sundarbans delta in India, getting a COVID-19 vaccine was proving to be difficult. Then a government boat arrived with vaccines. Home to more than 4.5 million people and the largest mangrove forest in the world, residents of the Bay of Bengal delta endure all the miseries nature throws at them - from cyclones to erosion.