Health News Roundup: WHO does not back vaccination passports for now; Biden to speed up eligibility for vaccine as U.S. and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Biden to speed up eligibility for vaccine as U.S. hits milestone

President Joe Biden will announce on Tuesday that the U.S. delivered 150 million vaccines since he took office and move up by nearly two weeks a deadline to make doses widely available, according to a person familiar with the matter. Biden will direct states to widen the distribution of vaccines to all eligible American adults by April 19, two weeks earlier than the May 1 deadline he announced before.

Exclusive: EU denies blocking 3.1 million AstraZeneca shots to Australia

The European Union on Tuesday denied blocking shipments of 3.1 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to Australia as it steps up scrutiny of vaccine shipments to address EU shortages. An Australian government source told Reuters that the EU had blocked 3.1 million shots and the country had little hope of getting the remaining 400,000 doses it has been promised on time.

Catalent to nearly double U.S. production of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine: WSJ

Contract manufacturer Catalent Inc has signed an agreement that will nearly double the U.S. production of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The agreement will increase the vaccine output at Catalent's Bloomington, Indiana, plant this month to about 400 vials a minute, WSJ reported.

WHO does not back vaccination passports for now - spokeswoman

The World Health Organization does not back require vaccination passports for travel due to uncertainty over whether inoculation prevents transmission of the virus, as well as equity concerns, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. "We as WHO are saying at this stage we would not like to see the vaccination passport as a requirement for entry or exit because we are not certain at this stage that the vaccine prevents transmission," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.

Indian capital imposes night curfew ahead of 'critical' four weeks in COVID-19 fight

The Indian capital of New Delhi on Tuesday imposed a night-time curfew until April 30 with much of the country struggling to contain a second surge in coronavirus infections that has eclipsed the first wave. The next four weeks in India's fight against COVID-19 will be "very, very critical," said senior government health official Vinod Kumar Paul, warning that the respiratory disease was now spreading much faster than in 2020.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million

Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million amid new infections resurgence

Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide crossed 3 million on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the latest global resurgence of COVID-19 infections is challenging vaccination efforts across the globe. Worldwide COVID-19 deaths are rising once again, especially in Brazil and India. Health officials blame more infectious variants that were first detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, along with public fatigue with lockdowns and other restrictions.

"Pub Passports" not needed at start of England reopening, PM Johnson says

COVID-19 status certificates will not be required to go to a pub or restaurant in England when they first reopen, but no decisions have been taken on their use in the longer term, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday. Johnson on Monday gave the green light for England to take the next step in easing its third national lockdown since March 2020, but he gave few details on how any possible vaccine certification scheme would work.

Clear link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper

There is a link between AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain but the possible causes are still unknown, a senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday. "In my opinion, we can now say it, it is clear that there is an association with the vaccine. However, we still do not know what causes this reaction," Marco Cavaleri, chair of the vaccine evaluation team at the EMA, told Italian daily Il Messaggero when asked about the possible relation between the AstraZeneca shot and cases of brain blood clots.

Spain plans to fully vaccinate 53% of population by late July

Spain is accelerating vaccination against COVID-19 and will fully vaccinate 25 million people by late July, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday, also confirming the end-August target of inoculating 70% of all Spaniards. "The pace of vaccination will accelerate in April and then each month we will improve the vaccination pace from the previous month," Sanchez told a news conference, attributing a slow start of the campaign to delivery delays by vaccine maker AstraZeneca across the European Union.

(With inputs from agencies.)