Reuters Health News Summary

Earlier this week her parents, the king and queen of Sweden, both also tested positive amid a mounting fourth wave of the virus, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, that has seen the country repeatedly report record daily case numbers. Tokyo's daily COVID-19 cases rise to most since Sept 11 New daily coronavirus cases in the Japanese capital Tokyo rose to 1,224 on Saturday, the Tokyo government said, the highest since Sept.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

India's Bharat Biotech says its Covaxin booster dose offers long term protection

India’s Bharat Biotech said on Saturday a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin offered long-term protection from severe disease in a trial. The company said a booster dose was given to trial participants six months after they received their second dose.

German health minister wants to revamp COVID-19 vaccination strategy

Germany must revamp its COVID-19 vaccination strategy to tackle the Omicron variant and to ensure it can develop a new vaccine rapidly if it faces a more deadly coronavirus variant in the future, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said. Lauterbach, who was appointed health minister last month, made his comments in an advanced release of an interview to be published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

UK COVID-19 death toll exceeds 150,000 after Omicron surge

The United Kingdom's official death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic rose above 150,000 on Saturday, government figures showed, following a record wave of cases caused by the Omicron variant. Some 313 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test were reported on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities on this measure to 150,057.

First Colombian with non-terminal illness dies legally by euthanasia

Colombian Victor Escobar became the first person in the Andean country with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia late on Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed. Escobar, 60, suffered from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes greatly diminished quality of life, as well as a number of other conditions, Giraldo told Reuters.

South Africa should step up COVID-19 vaccinations, President Ramaphosa says

South Africa should step up COVID-19 vaccinations, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday, urging members of his governing African National Congress (ANC) party to fight vaccine hesitancy in communities. Nearly 40% of South Africa's adult population has been fully vaccinated, higher than in many other African countries but less than the government had hoped for by this stage. Late last year, the government deferred some vaccine deliveries as the pace of inoculations slowed.

Swedish crown princess contracts COVID-19 amid surging infections

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the Royal Court said on Saturday, adding that the heir to the throne was fully vaccinated. Earlier this week her parents, the king and queen of Sweden, both also tested positive amid a mounting fourth wave of the virus, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, that has seen the country repeatedly report record daily case numbers.

Tokyo's daily COVID-19 cases rise to most since Sept 11

New daily coronavirus cases in the Japanese capital Tokyo rose to 1,224 on Saturday, the Tokyo government said, the highest since Sept. 11. COVID-19 is surging in Japan, and the country is stepping up restrictions in three regions that host U.S. military bases, which some officials say have helped fuel the spike.

Australia treasurer tests positive for COVID-19 as daily cases soar past 100,000

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he tested positive to COVID-19, joining other top government officials in contracting the disease as the daily infection rate surpassed 100,000 for the first time amid an outbreak of the Omicron variant. "Like thousands of Australians, I tested positive today to COVID-19," Frydenberg wrote in a short message which he posted to Twitter and Facebook late on Friday.

Anti-vax protesters tell France's Macron: 'We'll piss you off'

Anti-vaccine protesters rallied in cities across France on Saturday, denouncing President Emmanuel Macron's intent to "piss off" people refusing COVID-19 shots by tightening curbs on their civil liberties. Macron said this week he wanted to irritate unvaccinated people by making their lives so complicated they would end up getting jabbed. Unvaccinated people were irresponsible and unworthy of being considered citizens, he added.

Italy reports 184 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday - Health Ministry

Italy reported 197,552 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, up from 108,304 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 184 from 223. Italy has registered 138,881 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 7.28 million cases to date.