Reuters Health News Summary

The two cases, including a 3-year-old child, were the first two who were not household contacts of a cluster of infected workers at a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport which had triggered the five-day lockdown, health authorities said.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. UK says it shares U.S. concerns over WHO COVID-19 mission to China

British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday he shared concerns about the level of access given to a World Health Organization COVID-19 fact-finding mission to China, echoing criticism from the United States. The White House on Saturday called on China to make available data from the earliest days of the novel coronavirus outbreak, saying it had "deep concerns" about the way the findings of the WHO's COVID-19 report were communicated. Thailand defends decision not to join COVAX vaccine alliance

The Thai government on Sunday defended its decision not to join the WHO-sponsored coronavirus vaccine programme, saying that to do so would risk the country paying more for the shots and facing uncertainty about delivery times. The government has been criticised by opposition politicians and protesters for lacking transparency and being too slow in procuring vaccines. While the country of 66 million people has had low numbers of cases and deaths, it is dealing with a second wave of infections. Japan Health Ministry says it has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

Japan's Health Ministry said on Sunday it has officially approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, the first such approval in the country as it steps up efforts to tame a third wave of infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games. The move had been widely expected after a government panel recommended approval on Friday, at which point Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said Japan would give its final approval as soon as possible. Israel plans to reopen restaurants in March, restart tourism with Cyprus

Israel plans to reopen restaurants around March 9 and restart tourism with Cyprus as part of a gradual return to normality thanks to a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, officials said on Sunday. With more than 41% of Israelis having received at least one shot of Pfizer Inc's vaccine, Israel has said it will partially reopen hotels and gyms on Feb. 23 to those fully inoculated or deemed immune after recovering from COVID-19. Australia's locked down Victoria state reports 2 new local COVID-19 cases

Australia's second-most populous state, Victoria, reported two new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection on Sunday, day two of a snap lockdown as authorities scrambled to curb the spread of the highly infectious UK variant of the disease. The two cases, including a 3-year-old child, were the first two who were not household contacts of a cluster of infected workers at a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport which had triggered the five-day lockdown, health authorities said. The hotel cluster has now affected 16 people. New Zealand locks down Auckland after 3 new local COVID-19 cases

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday announced a three-day lockdown in the country's biggest city Auckland, after three COVID-19 cases emerged, the first local infections since late January. Level 3 restrictions will require everyone to stay home except for essential shopping and essential work, Ardern said, repeating the strict approach the country has taken over the past year in virtually eliminating the pandemic. UK closes in on 15 million vaccine target, pressure to unlock grows

Britain is on course to hit a target of offering a first vaccine dose against COVID-19 to its 15 million most vulnerable citizens by Monday, increasing pressure on the government to start reopening schools and loosening far-reaching lockdown measures. Britain's vaccination programme has so far reached more than 14.5 million people and is seen as one of few successes in the government's handling of a pandemic in which the country has suffered a higher death toll and worse economic damage than its peers. The UK's total population is about 67 million. Guinea reports first Ebola cases since 2016, including three deaths

Three people have died of Ebola, and another five have tested positive for the virus in southeastern Guinea, the state health agency said, the first possible resurgence of the disease there since the world's worst outbreak in 2013-2016. The patients fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding after attending a burial in Goueke sub-prefecture. The five still alive have been isolated in treatment centres, the agency ANSS said on Sunday. Pakistan lab expects Sputnik V doses for commercial sale in a week

A Pakistani lab will soon receive Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for commercial sale, a company official said on Sunday, making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately as it scrambles to secure supplies. Despite concerns over fairness and higher prices, Islamabad agreed this week to allow the commercial import and sale of vaccines without price caps, in contrast to most countries, which are importing and administering vaccines through government channels. Lebanon starts its COVID-19 vaccination drive, PM says will wait his turn

Lebanon started its COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday by inoculating the head of critical care at its biggest public hospital, followed by 93-year-old celebrated Lebanese actor and comedian Salah Tizani. Battling a sharp spike in infections in recent weeks which has overwhelmed its healthcare system, Lebanon took delivery of 28,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday, the first batch of 2.1 million doses set to arrive in stages throughout the year.

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