Health News Roundup: New reckoning for WHO vaccine plan; COVID reinfection detected in US patient and more

COVID-19 reinfection seen in U.S. patient Exclusive: WHO sweetens terms to join struggling global COVAX vaccine facility - documents Wealthier countries that join the World Health Organization's COVID-19 vaccine plan are being offered a new option to pick and choose which shots they get while reserving a right to receive their "full share" of doses, documents seen by Reuters show.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New reckoning for WHO vaccine plan as governments go it alone

The World Health Organization will next week receive a raft of pledges of support for its plan for COVID-19 vaccines for all. But the agency has already had to scale back its ambition.

COVID-19 reinfection detected in U.S. patient; saliva tests endorsed

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. COVID-19 reinfection seen in U.S. patient.

Exclusive: WHO sweetens terms to join struggling global COVAX vaccine facility - documents

Wealthier countries that join the World Health Organization's COVID-19 vaccine plan are being offered a new option to pick and choose which shots they get while reserving a right to receive their "full share" of doses, documents seen by Reuters show. The change appears aimed at convincing governments which have negotiated their own bilateral deals securing experimental vaccines to also sign up for the global COVAX facility by Monday's deadline for submitting expressions of interest.

Exclusive: Most U.S. states reject Trump administration's new COVID-19 testing guidance

A majority of U.S. states have rejected new Trump administration COVID-19 testing guidance in an extraordinary rebuke of the nation's top agency for disease prevention, according to officials at state health agencies and public statements reviewed by Reuters. At least 33 states continue to recommend testing people who have been exposed to COVID-19 and have no symptoms, spurning guidance published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week that said testing may be unnecessary. Sixteen states did not immediately respond to requests for comment and North Dakota said it had not made a decision.

Four at Republican convention in North Carolina tested coronavirus positive, officials say

Four people at the Republican National Convention in North Carolina this week tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said on Friday, even as Republicans played down the U.S. health crisis in renominating President Donald Trump. The party's convention, which began with one day of events in Charlotte, North Carolina, despite the pandemic that has killed more than 180,000 Americans, ended on Thursday after four days of speeches lauding Trump.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Four times as many vaccine doses as population

Exclusive: Sanofi more confident about its coronavirus vaccines

Sanofi's confidence in its coronavirus vaccine candidates has increased this summer as the French drugmaker prepares to start clinical trials, its chief executive told Reuters. The company is working on two of the more than 150 potential vaccines being developed across the world to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 831,000 lives and sparked economic chaos.

First U.S. novel coronavirus reinfection case identified in Nevada study

Researchers for the first time have identified someone in the United States who was reinfected with the novel coronavirus, according to a study that has not yet been reviewed by outside experts. The report, published online, describes a 25-year-old man living in Reno, Nevada, who tested positive for the virus in April after showing mild illness. He got sick again in late May and developed more severe COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Sao Paulo to provide vaccine to its people even without federal govt help: governor

The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo will roll out a vaccination program to its population even without federal government assistance, governor Joao Doria told Reuters in an interview on Friday. Doria said the vaccine would still require approval by the health regulator Anvisa and the completion of clinical trials.

J&J to start mid-stage coronavirus vaccine trials in three European countries

Johnson & Johnson's Janssen unit will begin mid-stage trials for its coronavirus vaccine in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany next week, Spain's health minister said on Friday, as the U.S. drugmaker expands testing for its experimental shot. The Phase II trial will last two months and include 550 participants across the three countries, including 190 people in Spain, Salvador Illa told a news conference in Madrid.