Health News Roundup: Unvaccinated Belgian woman contracted two COVID variants simultaneously; U.S. administers nearly 333.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines- CDC and more

The government coronavirus task force said 749 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 143,002. Australia reports first 2021 local COVID-19 death, highest case number Australia reported its first locally contracted COVID-19 death of the year on Sunday and a 2021 record 77 new cases of the virus in the state of New South Wales, which is battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Unvaccinated Belgian women contracted two COVID variants simultaneously

A 90-year-old Belgian woman who died from COVID-19 in March had contracted two variants of coronavirus at the same time, which is believed to be the first documented case of its kind, a scientific congress and Belgian media said on Sunday. The case, discussed at this year's European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), shows that it is possible to catch two COVID-19 variants simultaneously, the society that organized the congress said in a statement.

U.S. administers nearly 333.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines- CDC

The United States had administered 333,565,404 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 386,985,420 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on its website. The figures were up from the 332,966,409 doses the CDC said had been administered by Friday out of 386,058,070 doses delivered.

Russia reports 25,033 new COVID-19 cases, 749 deaths

Russia reported 25,033 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 5,410 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,783,333. The government coronavirus task force said 749 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 143,002.

Australia reports first 2021 local COVID-19 death, highest case number

Australia reported its first locally contracted COVID-19 death of the year on Sunday and a 2021 record 77 new cases of the virus in the state of New South Wales, which is battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the numbers in and around the country's biggest city Sydney, already under a hard lockdown, are expected to rise.

Israel offers a third shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to adults at risk

Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer Inc's vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent vaccination rates in Israel back up as new infections have risen over the past month from single digits to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.

Vietnam to expand movement curbs as coronavirus cases hit a record high

Vietnam will impose movement restrictions in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho for 14 days starting on Monday, the government said on Sunday, as the Southeast Asian country battles its worst outbreak of the pandemic. The city of 1.23 million people in the far south has reported seven infections over the past week, the government said in a statement.

EU delivers enough doses to vaccinate 70% of adults, von der Leyen says

The European Union has delivered enough coronavirus vaccine doses to member states to reach a target to fully vaccinate at least 70% of adults in the bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Saturday. Von der Leyen, who had tweeted on May 9 that the EU was on track to meet its goal of inoculating 70% of adults by summer, urged EU countries to increase vaccinations and said about 500 million doses would be distributed across the union by Sunday.

S.Korea new coronavirus cases dip from record high

South Korea reported 1,324 new coronavirus cases as of midnight on Saturday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday, down from a record 1,378 the day before as the country battles a surge of infections. Reported cases often dip over weekends with fewer tests conducted, and authorities have warned that cases may continue to rise.

Hundreds of Thai medical workers infected despite Sinovac vaccinations

Thailand's health ministry said on Sunday more than 600 medical workers who received two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine have been infected with COVID-19, as authorities weigh giving booster doses to raise immunity. Of the 677,348 medical personnel who received two doses of Sinovac, 618 became infected, health ministry data from April to July showed. A nurse has died and another medical worker is in critical condition.

TSMC, Foxconn says they are in process of signing a deal for BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines

Taiwan's TSMC and Foxconn said on Sunday they were in the middle of the contract signing process to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Germany's BioNTech SE, part of a drawn-out and highly politicized process for Taiwan to access the shot. Taiwan's government has tried for months to buy the vaccine directly from BioNTech and has blamed China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory, for nixing a deal the two sides were due to sign earlier this year. China denies the accusations.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)