Russia Follows Britain In Starting Large-Scale Vaccinations

NPR: Putin Tells Russia To Begin Large-Scale Vaccination For Coronavirus
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered mass immunization against COVID-19 as Russia races to reverse a surge in coronavirus cases and be the first in the world to distribute its vaccine widely. Putin issued the order in a videoconference with officials, just hours after health authorities in Britain approved Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. (Kim, 12/2)

AP: China Testing Blunders Stemmed From Secret Deals With Firms
In the early days in Wuhan, the first city first struck by the virus, getting a COVID test was so difficult that residents compared it to winning the lottery. Throughout the Chinese city in January, thousands of people waited in hours-long lines for hospitals, sometimes next to corpses lying in hallways. But most couldn’t get the test they needed to be admitted as patients. And for the few who did, the tests were often faulty, resulting in false negatives. The widespread test shortages and problems at a time when the virus could have been slowed were caused largely by secrecy and cronyism at China’s top disease control agency, an Associated Press investigation has found. (Kang, 12/3)

Bloomberg: After Pfizer’s U.K. Vaccine Nod, Here’s Where It Stands In Asia
The quick approval of Pfizer Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine in the U.K. isn’t likely to accelerate the availability of the shot in Asia, as countries work to complete local safety tests and negotiate deals. Asia’s biggest economies including China and Japan still need to finish domestic clinical trials to demonstrate the Pfizer shot is safe, and even then, most countries have set deliveries for next year. In addition, some developing nations in Asia with the biggest outbreaks don’t have deals with Pfizer, and lack the means to distribute and store the vaccine, which needs to be kept at a deep freeze. (Du, 12/3)

AP: Nearly 100 World Leaders To Speak At UN Session On COVID-19
Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen ministers are slated to speak at the U.N. General Assembly’s special session starting Thursday on the response to COVID-19 and the best path to recovery from the pandemic which has claimed 1.5 million lives, shattered economies, and left tens of millions of people unemployed in countries rich and poor. (Lederer, 12/3)

Also —

NPR: Win For Cannabis Backers: U.N. Commission Removes Drug From Strict Control List
The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to reclassify cannabis Wednesday, taking it off the strict Schedule IV list that includes dangerous and highly addictive drugs such as heroin. The U.N. still deems cannabis a controlled substance. But the move, which the U.S. supported, could ease restrictions on research into marijuana's therapeutic use. The 53-member commission approved the change in a close vote, by 27-25, with 1 abstention. Russia was a vocal opponent of the move, calling cannabis "the most abused drug globally." (Chappell, 12/2)

AP: Olympic Fans From Abroad May Have Health Tracked By App
A mobile app could be among the measures used to track the health of fans from abroad if they are permitted to attend next year’s Tokyo Olympics. An interim report on contingencies for holding the Tokyo Games was released on Wednesday. It was compiled by the Japanese government, the Tokyo city government and local organizers. (Wade, 12/2)

NPR: Climate Change Threatens Health, Doctors Warn
Scientists from the World Meteorological Organization released a preliminary report on the global climate which shows that the last decade was the warmest on record and that millions of people were affected by wildfires, floods and extreme heat this year on top of the global pandemic. Separately, a sprawling analysis published Wednesday by the medical research journal The Lancet focuses on public health data from 2019, and finds that heat waves, air pollution and extreme weather increasingly damage human health. It is the most comprehensive annual report yet on the nexus of climate and health, and is routinely cited by climate policymakers. The authors include dozens of physicians and public health experts from around the world. (Hersher, 12/2)

Bloomberg: Climate Change And Health: Lancet Says Eating Less Beef Can Save Lives, Cut Heat
Getting more people around to world to cut down on eating beef could save lives by reducing heart attacks and curbing global temperature rises, according to The Lancet medical journal. Just as they were caught off guard by the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare systems around the world are ill prepared to cope with the worst impacts of climate change, including heat-related illnesses, the journal’s annual Countdown on Health and Climate Change report concluded. (Shankleman, 12/2)