Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China reports 54 new COVID-19 cases in mainland vs 75 a day earlier

China reported its lowest daily increase in new COVID-19 cases in nearly three weeks on Thursday, suggesting aggressive countermeasures have helped slow a recent outbreak in the country's northeastern provinces. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the mainland fell to 54 on Jan. 27, the National Health Commission said in a statement, down from 75 a day earlier. It was the lowest single-day increase since 33 cases reported on Jan. 8.

Philippine regulator approves emergency use of AstraZeneca vaccine

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca PLC's COVID-19 vaccine, the second to be approved in the Southeast Asian nation. The known and potential benefits of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine outweighed the risks to date, FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo told a news conference.

Australian state borders to reopen with zero local virus cases

Australia's most populous state of New South Wales recorded its 11th day of zero local coronavirus cases on Thursday, allowing neighbouring Queensland state to lift border restrictions while Victoria state also hinted at relaxing travel with Sydney. Australian states imposed quarantine or hard border restrictions for travellers from New South Wales (NSW) after an outbreak in Sydney in late December, throwing Christmas holiday plans of thousands of Australians into chaos.

Australia extends New Zealand 'travel bubble' pause amid new COVID-19 cases

Australia on Thursday extended its suspension of quarantine-free travel with New Zealand, as the Pacific Island nation investigated two new positive cases of the South African COVID-19 variant. Australian Acting Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the travel pause on green zone flights from New Zealand to Australia was extended until Sunday.

WHO team in Wuhan set to leave quarantine in investigation of COVID origins

A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic was expected to leave their quarantine hotel on Thursday to begin field work, two weeks after arriving in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged in late 2019. The mission has been plagued by delay, concerns over access and bickering between China and the United States, which has accused Beijing of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak and has criticised the terms of the visit, under which Chinese experts conducted the first phase of research.

Hopeful signs on pandemic lead some U.S. states to ease coronavirus restrictions

Severe COVID-19 infections are beginning to abate in many parts of the United States even as the death toll mounts, signaling an end to the pandemic's post-holiday surge and prompting some states to ease public health restrictions. A slow but steady reduction in the number of Americans entering hospitals with the disease has paralleled a choppy rollout of vaccines that also are expected to reduce spread of the coronavirus that causes it.

AstraZeneca to produce 90 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in Japan - government spokesman

AstraZeneca Plc will make more than 90 million coronavirus vaccine shots in Japan, the top government spokesman said on Thursday, as concerns mount over whether the country will have enough doses to begin its delayed inoculation campaign. The British company confirmed to Japan's health ministry it will make the bulk of the vaccines within the Asian nation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

Vietnam reports first two locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in 55 days

Vietnam's health ministry on Thursday confirmed its first two locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in nearly two months, just weeks before the country's Lunar New Year holiday period, when big gatherings indoors are expected. Though a tiny number compared with new coronavirus infections in many countries, the two cases are a jolt for Vietnam. Thanks to strict quarantine, testing and tracing measures, it has reported only 1,551 cases and 35 COVID-19 deaths before Thursday, earning it a top three spot in a survey of how well countries have handled the pandemic.

New Zealand, Vietnam top COVID performance ranking; U.S., UK languish

New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan rank the top three in a COVID Performance Index of almost 100 countries for their successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Britain and America near the bottom of the pile. The Lowy Institute said its index published on Thursday excludes China, where the first cases were identified in December 2019, due to a lack of publicly available data.

Pfizer vaccine only slightly less effective against key South African mutations - study

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appeared to lose only a small bit of effectiveness against an engineered virus with three key mutations from the new coronavirus variant found in South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker. The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed a less than two-fold reduction in antibody titer levels, indicating the vaccine would likely be effective in neutralizing a virus with the so-called E484K and N501Y mutations found in the South African variant.