An unidentified group of U.S.-based philanthropists plans to send 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Iran in the coming weeks, Iranian media reported Monday, in a step that could bring the hardest-hit country in the Middle East closer to inoculating its citizens against the coronavirus. Details remained scarce in the report by semiofficial Tasnim news agency. It quoted the chief of the country’s Red Crescent Society as saying he expects the vaccine created by American drug maker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech to be imported by Jan. 19 “based on coordination with a group of benefactors in the U.S.” Iran has struggled to stem the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East, which has infected over 1.2 million people and killed nearly 55,000.

The first study of the safety and effectiveness of a coronavirus vaccine in Iran began Tuesday, state TV reported, with dozens due to receive the domestically developed shot even as details about its production remained slim. The vaccine, the first in the country to reach human trials, is produced by Shifa Pharmed, part of a state-owned pharmaceutical conglomerate known as Barekat. The company’s website describes it as involved in the large-scale production of antibiotics and penicillin, without offering any details about its coronavirus research, results of animal trials or previous vaccine development since its founding in 1995. Iran has struggled to stem the worst virus outbreak in the region, which has infected over 1.2 million people and killed nearly 55,000.

Belarus on Tuesday announced the start of mass coronavirus vaccinations with the Russian-developed Sputnik V shot, becoming the second country after Russia to roll out a vaccine that is still undergoing late-stage studies to ensure its safety and effectiveness. The first batch of Sputnik V arrived in the former Soviet republic on Tuesday, according to a joint statement by the Belarusian Health Ministry, the Russian Health Ministry and the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled development of the jab. The health ministry posted pictures of people getting the shots on social media. “A new stage starts in Belarus today with mass vaccinations against COVID-19.

Official figures show more people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in England than at the first peak of the outbreak in the spring. There were 20,426 patients in hospitals as of Monday morning — the last day for which figures are available — compared to the previous high of 18,974 on April 12. Simon Stevens, chief executive of Britain’s National Health Service, said health care workers are back in “the eye of the storm” as they had been in the spring. British authorities are blaming a new variant of the coronavirus, first identified in southeast England, for soaring infection rates. Almost half of England’s population is under tight restrictions on movement and on everyday life in an attempt to curb the spread.

The United States has started vaccinating its troops based in South Korea, as its Asian ally reported its highest daily COVID-19 fatalities amid surging cases in the country. The United States Forces Korea says in a statement it started inoculating military and civilian health-care workers, first responders and the USFK command team with the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday. Among those who received the vaccinations was Gen. Robert B. Abrams, chief of the 28,500 American troops in South Korea. It says the vaccine is 100% voluntary and not mandatory. Abrams says that “I strongly encourage all eligible individuals to receive the vaccine.” The USFK statement says more vaccines from Moderna, and potentially others with FDA approval, will be sent to the USFK. The U.S.

The Chareidi medical organizations that provide medical treatment for coronavirus patients at home say that there has been an unprecedented demand for oxygen machines and other medical equipment in recent weeks due to the surge in the infection rate, Kikar H’Shabbos reported. As YWN reported in the past, many coronavirus patients prefer to remain at home rather than being evacuated to the hospital and Chareidi medical organizations have been doing their utmost to assist these patients by providing medical care at home along with lending out oxygen machines and other medical equipment.

Israel has overtaken Bahrain in the percentage of its population that has been vaccinated against the coronavirus and is currently leading the world in its vaccination rate, Globes reported on Monday. Bahrain was the global leader in its vaccination rate until the end of last week. Since Bahrain was one of the first countries to approve the Pizer vaccine, independently of the FDA decision, Pfizer promised the tiny Gulf state rapid delivery of its vaccinations. According to Globes, Bahrain paid the same price for the Pfizer vaccines as Israel. Meanwhile, the rate of vaccinations in Europe is much lower, with the EU only beginning its vaccination campaign on Sunday of this week, albeit at a low volume.

The head of drugmaker AstraZeneca, which is developing a coronavirus vaccine widely expected to be approved by U.K. authorities this week, said Sunday that researchers believe the shot will be effective against a new variant of the virus driving a rapid surge in infections in Britain. AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot also told the Sunday Times that researchers developing its vaccine have figured out a “winning formula” making the jab as effective as rival candidates. Some have raised concern that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being developed with Oxford University, may not be as good as the one made by Pfizer already being distributed in the U.K. and other countries.

South Africa’s COVID-19 spike has taken the country to more than 1 million confirmed cases on Sunday and President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council. The country’s new variant of the coronavirus, 501.V2, is more contagious and has quickly become dominant in many areas of the resurgence, according to experts. With South Africa’s hospitals reaching capacity and no sign of the new surge reaching a peak, Ramaphosa is expected to announce a return to restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of the disease. “We are not helpless in the face of this variant,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Richard Lessells told The Associated Press.

While governments across Europe kicked off their virus vaccination plans this weekend with fanfare, France took a more low-key approach because of widespread skepticism among it citizens around the vaccines. After the first shots were injected Sunday into the arm of 78-year-old Mauricette, a woman in a long-term care facility near Paris, President Emmanuel Macron appealed to his compatriots: “Let’s have trust in our researchers and doctors. We are the nation of the Enlightenment and of (vaccine pioneer Louis) Pasteur. Reason and science should guide us.” Yet many of his compatriots worry. They remember French health scandals in recent decades, including those involving mismanaged vaccines.