Health News Roundup: U.S. urged to include Black, Latino communities in COVID; U.S. CDC reports 3,555,877 COVID cases and more

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on July 16 versus its previous report on Thursday.(https://bit.ly/2BROCTB) Recent spike in Canadian coronavirus cases is worrying, says medical official A recent spike in coronavirus cases in Canada is worrying and can be linked to groups of young people gathering in bars and nightclubs and at parties, a top medical official said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. urged to include Black, Latino communities in COVID-19 vaccine trials

A group of physicians and scientists are urging the U.S. government to include Black, Latino and indigenous Americans in the design and implementation of COVID-19 vaccine trials in hopes of building trust among these at-risk populations. Without such actions, populations most in need of the vaccine may be reluctant to take it, Dr. Richard Baron, chief executive of the American Board of Internal Medicine(ABIM) and colleagues, said in an open letter seen by Reuters to the head of Operation Warp Speed, the White House program set up to accelerate coronavirus vaccine development.

U.S. CDC reports 3,555,877 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 3,555,877 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 72,045 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 926 to 137,864. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on July 16 versus its previous report on Thursday.(https://bit.ly/2BROCTB)

Recent spike in Canadian coronavirus cases is worrying, says medical official

A recent spike in coronavirus cases in Canada is worrying and can be linked to groups of young people gathering in bars and nightclubs and at parties, a top medical official said on Friday. "When we examine recent trends in case reporting, there is some cause for concern. After a period of steady decline, daily case counts have started to rise," Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, told a briefing.

Georgia governor urges people to wear masks but won't support mandate

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Friday urged all people in his state to wear a mask for four weeks to combat COVID-19 but declined to support mandates to wear masks, saying mandates were unenforceable. "I'm confident Georgians don't need a mask mandate to do the right thing," Kemp, who sued the city of Atlanta on Thursday to stop it from issuing a mask mandate, told a news conference.

Phillips 66 says COVID-19 cases rising among employees: email

The number of COVID-19 cases among Phillips 66 employees is growing, with 57 active cases, the company told employees in an email seen by Reuters on Friday. Senior Vice President Jay Churchill said 160 employees across the company's sites have been stricken with the virus, with cases rising in Texas, Louisiana, California, and Oklahoma. Several employees have been hospitalized, he said in the email sent Thursday.

WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 237,000

The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 237,743 in 24 hours. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India, and South Africa, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 230,370 on July 12. Deaths have held steady and averaged less than 5,000 a day in July.

WHO preparing full mission to China to study virus origins

The World Health Organization is forming a team of international experts to go to China to study the origins of the novel coronavirus, but it will not be in place before the end of July, the head of the WHO's emergencies program said on Friday. A two-person WHO advance team has been in China for a week preparing for the visit of the larger team. WHO emergencies program chief Mike Ryan said the health body was "very pleased" with the collaboration from Chinese officials so far, but setting up and deploying the larger team would take time.

Exclusive: EU in talks with Moderna, BioNtech, CureVac to secure possible COVID vaccines

The European Union is negotiating advance purchase deals of potential COVID-19 vaccines with drugmakers Moderna, Sanofi, and Johnson & Johnson as well as biotech firms BioNtech and CureVac, two EU sources told Reuters. The talks follow a deal reached in June by four EU member states with AstraZeneca for the upfront purchase of 400 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, in principle available to all 27 EU nations.

Infectious disease specialists ask U.S. govt to ensure remdesivir supply

U.S. infectious disease specialists this week asked the federal government to "use every authority it has" to ensure adequate supplies of the antiviral drug remdesivir as the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus continues to rise. In a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) expressed concern that developed countries are relying on a single manufacturer for the only antiviral so far shown to be effective against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Britain eyes normal life by Christmas but preparing for second COVID-19 wave

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to normality before Christmas, setting out a phased removal of lockdown restrictions, but warned the country still needed to prepare for the worst. Britain's death toll of more than 45,000 from confirmed cases of COVID-19 is Europe's highest but the country has begun to lift lockdown measures as case numbers and infection rates fall.