Reuters Health News Summary

Iran records highest daily death toll from COVID-19 Iran has recorded its highest number of deaths from COVID-19 within a 24-hour period, Health Ministry figures showed on Tuesday. WHO to travellers: keep an eye on 'anywhere and everywhere' COVID-19 The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged travellers to wear masks on planes and keep themselves informed as COVID-19 cases surge again in some countries, prompting new restrictions in places like Australia.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. U.S. tops 130,000 deaths from COVID-19 after record surge in cases

The number of U.S. coronavirus deaths exceeded 130,000 on Monday, following a surge of new cases that has put President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis under the microscope and derailed efforts to restart the economy. The overall rate of increase in U.S. deaths has been on a downward trend despite case numbers surging to record levels in recent days, but health experts warn fatalities are a lagging indicator, showing up weeks or even months after cases rise. GSK, Philip Morris venture tie-up for potential COVID-19 shot

GSK, the world's largest vaccine maker, on Tuesday announced the latest partnership for its vaccine booster technology to develop and test a potential COVID-19 shot with Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Medicago. The British drugmaker has shied away from developing its own coronavirus vaccine and instead focused on contributing its adjuvant expertise to at least seven other global institutions or firms such as Sanofi and China's Clover. Australia's second largest city heads back into coronavirus lockdown

Lockdown measures were reimposed in Australia's second biggest city on Tuesday, confining Melbourne residents to their homes unless undertaking essential business for six weeks, as officials scramble to to contain a coronavirus outbreak. The decision, which affects around 4.9 million people, was announced just hours before the busy border between Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, and New South Wales is scheduled to close for the first time in a century. Iran records highest daily death toll from COVID-19

Iran has recorded its highest number of deaths from COVID-19 within a 24-hour period, Health Ministry figures showed on Tuesday. The 200 deaths reported on Tuesday exceed the previous record from Sunday, when the ministry reported 163 deaths in a day. Regeneron signs $450 million contract with U.S. government for COVID-19 therapy

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday the U.S. government signed a $450 million contract with the drugmaker to make and supply its potential double antibody cocktail for COVID-19. The cocktail, REGN-COV2, is in separate clinical trials assessing its effectiveness in preventing and treating COVID-19, the company said https://reut.rs/2O2ADgu. Free ambulance helps save mothers and babies in Kenya lockdown

As soon as Kenya introduced a coronavirus curfew, Dr. Jemimah Kariuki, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Nairobi's Kenyatta Hospital, started seeing more death and complications. "Every time I went to the hospital it was fewer numbers but more complications...and when women died alone in childbirth, I was like 'in 2020?' You are dying? Alone?," she said. U.S. government awards Novavax $1.6 billion for coronavirus vaccine

The U.S. government has awarded Novavax Inc $1.6 billion to cover testing, commercialization and manufacturing of a potential coronavirus vaccine in the United States, with the aim of delivering 100 million doses by January 2021. Novavax shares jumped 35% in premarket trade. 'At war time speed', China leads COVID-19 vaccine race

China is forging ahead in the race to develop a vaccine to help control the COVID-19 pandemic, with Sinovac Biotech's experimental vaccine set to become the country's second and the world's third to enter final stage testing later this month. While a laggard in the global vaccine industry, China, where the new coronavirus is thought to have originated, has brought state, military and private sectors together in a quest to combat a disease that has killed over 500,000 people worldwide. WHO to travellers: keep an eye on 'anywhere and everywhere' COVID-19

The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged travellers to wear masks on planes and keep themselves informed as COVID-19 cases surge again in some countries, prompting new restrictions in places like Australia. Spokeswoman Margaret Harris urged people not to be caught off-guard by resurgent local epidemics and quarantine measures, saying: "If it's anywhere, it's everywhere and people travelling have to understand that." Exclusive: Moderna spars with U.S. scientists over COVID-19 vaccine trials

As the United States accelerates the search for a coronavirus vaccine, tensions have erupted between government scientists and Moderna Inc, one of the leading developers, Reuters has learned. The federal government is supporting Moderna's vaccine project with nearly half a billion dollars and has chosen it as one of the first to enter large-scale human trials.

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