Reuters Health News Summary

Exclusive: Vaccine group says 76 rich countries now committed to 'COVAX' access plan Seventy-six wealthy nations are now committed to joining a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to help buy and fairly distribute the shots, the project's co-lead said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Healthcare startup Biofourmis closes $100 million SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led round

Healthtech startup Biofourmis said on Thursday it has closed a $100 million series C funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund 2, as the Japanese firm extends its bets on a sector growing through the coronavirus outbreak. Boston-based Biofourmis uses a wearable biosensor to remotely monitor patients for changes in their health. The startup is running a programme in Singapore monitoring the condition of COVID-19 patients. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: White House slams "corrupt" WHO New Yorkers pant with relief through masks as gyms reopen

A special strain of New Yorker showed up at Chelsea Piers Fitness on Wednesday morning, the first time gyms have been allowed to open since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the city in March. Broad-shouldered giants insisted through mandatory face masks that, despite nearly 200 pounds of visual evidence to the contrary, they had withered away over five months. Women with sleeked-back ponytails and pronounced abs, tired of months of quiet apartment workouts respectful of downstairs neighbors, let heavy barbells crash to the ground. Amid plans to quit, U.S. will not pay what it owes WHO this year

The United States said on Wednesday that it will not pay some $80 million it currently owes to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) and will instead redirect the money to help pay its United Nations bill in New York. The United States plans to leave WHO on July 6, 2021, after President Donald Trump accused it of becoming a puppet for China during the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO rejected Trump's assertions. Motorcycle rider who attended Sturgis rally dies of COVID; hair salons open in L.A.

A motorcycle rider who traveled to the Sturgis rally in August has died of COVID-19 as infections rise in parts of the Midwest, Minnesota health officials said on Wednesday, while Los Angeles reopened hair salons and New Yorkers returned to gyms. The motorcyclist, identified only as a man in his 60s with underlying health conditions, was in an intensive care unit at the time of his death, said Kris Ehresmann, the state's infectious disease director. Fear and dread haunt COVID-19 'long-haulers'

Until March 19 this year, Felicity Callard, a 49 year-old British university professor and lecturer, was fit, active and strong. Now, she says, she's exhausted, frail and scared. Her mind fills with fears about what kind of damage might have been done to her heart, lungs and brain when she suffered what is classified as a "mild" case of COVID-19 more than five months ago - and she's terrified it might happen again. Exclusive: Vaccine group says 76 rich countries now committed to 'COVAX' access plan

Seventy-six wealthy nations are now committed to joining a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to help buy and fairly distribute the shots, the project's co-lead said on Wednesday. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI vaccines alliance, said the coordinated plan, known as COVAX, now has Japan, Germany, Norway and more than 70 other nations signed up, agreeing in principle to procure COVID-19 vaccines through the facility for their populations. India reports record daily jump of 83,883 coronavirus infections

India reported another record daily jump of 83,883 coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking its tally to 3.85 million, just 100,000 behind Brazil, the world's second most affected nation, health ministry data showed. Asia's worst-hit country has been posting the world's largest daily caseload every day for almost a month, although deaths remain relatively low. White House's Birx denies 'herd immunity' policy under consideration

The White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, on Wednesday dismissed the notion that the Trump administration was considering a strategy of allowing Americans to become infected with coronavirus in order to reach "herd immunity." "Neither I, nor anybody in the administration, is willing to sacrifice American lives for herd immunity. We'll get to herd immunity through a vaccine and that's the right way to do it," Birx told reporters during a briefing at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, Michigan. U.S. CDC tells states to prep for COVID-19 vaccine distribution as soon as late October

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as late October, documents published by the agency showed on Wednesday. The timing of a vaccine has taken on political importance as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks re-election in November, after committing billions of federal dollars to develop a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, which has killed more than 180,000 Americans.