Health News Roundup: China's Wang Yi offers aid and vaccines to ally Cambodia; New Zealand buys further 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines as cluster grows and more

State Councillor Wang flew in from Vietnam on a week-long tour that will also take in Singapore and South Korea, two weeks after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the region. New Zealand buys further 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines as cluster grows New Zealand has purchased 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Denmark, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday, as the country struggles with a cluster of infections in its largest city.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. administers 380.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 380,241,903 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed 456,755,755 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 379,472,220 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 11, out of 456,755,075 doses delivered.

Australia buys additional 1 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

Australia has purchased an additional 1 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine from the European Union, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as the country accelerates its inoculation programme to fight record high infections. The purchase is a boost for Australia's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy, which is at risk of slipping into its second recession in as many years as a result of lockdowns of the country's two most populous cities, Sydney and Melbourne.

Biden to announce new COVID-19 steps ahead of U.N. meeting, surgeon general says

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 before the U.N. General Assembly meets, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday. Murthy did not specify what those steps would be. The next session of the General Assembly opens Tuesday; the first day of general debate will be the following week.

China's Wang Yi offers aid and vaccines to ally Cambodia

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday pledged $270 million in aid and three million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Cambodia, one of Beijing's closest allies in Southeast Asia, officials said. State Councillor Wang flew in from Vietnam on a week-long tour that will also take in Singapore and South Korea, two weeks after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the region.

New Zealand buys further 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines as cluster grows

New Zealand has purchased 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Denmark, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday, as the country struggles with a cluster of infections in its largest city. New Zealand, which reported 20 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in Auckland on Sunday, said the vaccines will arrive within days. The latest outbreak now totals 599 infections since the first case was detected in late August.

South Africa loosens COVID curbs as third wave eases

South Africa will ease COVID-19 restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew from Monday after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address. Authorities will also extend the hours of alcohol sales, the president said, further relaxing restrictions introduced in June to combat a third wave of cases caused by the Delta variant.

Anti COVID vaccine protesters clash with police in Greece

Greek police fired tear gas and water canon on Saturday to break up a demonstration of thousands of people protesting against mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. Authorities said protesters hurled flares at police in Greece's second-biggest city of Thessaloniki, who blocked them from trying to reach the area where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was due to deliver his annual economic address.

No vaccine passports: UK PM to set out winter COVID-19 plan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out on Tuesday his plans to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the winter months, announcing a decision to scrap the introduction of vaccine passports and steps to end some emergency powers. Johnson, under fire from some in his governing Conservative Party for raising taxes to fix a health and social care crisis, looks set to try to soothe those critics by ditching plans to introduce passports despite an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Get a jab! Merkel tells Germans before vaccination "action week"

Chancellor Angela Merkel implored Germans on Sunday to make use of a week-long COVID-19 vaccination campaign in which people can get a free jab at mosques, shops and football pitches. Worried that Germany's vaccination rate of around 62% will not be sufficient to stave off a winter wave of COVID-19 infections, especially due to the dominant Delta variant, the government is making a big push to encourage waverers.

S.Africa's regulator approves Pfizer COVID-19 shot for children 12 and up

South Africa's health regulator has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use by children aged 12 and older, paving the way for the government to offer vaccinations to teenagers. The South African Health Products Authority (SAPHRA) said the decision came after a review of updated safety and efficacy information submitted in March this year.