Health News Roundup: WHO says no change to COVID; US CDC reports 199.024 COVID deaths and more

U.S. CDC reports 199,024 coronavirus deaths The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 6,786,352 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 37,417 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 270 to 199,024.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO says no change to COVID-19 transmission guidance after U.S. draft change

The World Health Organization has not changed its policy on aerosol transmission of the coronavirus, it said on Monday after U.S. health officials published draft new guidance by mistake warning that it can spread through airborne particles. Mike Ryan, executive director of the UN agency's emergencies programme, said he would follow up with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the next 24 hours after it said COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet.

U.S. CDC reports 199,024 coronavirus deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 6,786,352 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 37,417 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 270 to 199,024. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Sept. 20 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2FWikc8)

As U.S. COVID-19 deaths near 200,000, a nation grapples with grief

Anthony and Rosemary Terio, married for 65 years, died five days apart in separate New York hospitals last spring, two lives among the nearly 200,000 that the United States has now lost to the coronavirus pandemic. "This pain will never go away for me," said one of their daughters, Lisa Terio-Heath, who, because of the pandemic, had to remain at her home in Greensboro, North Carolina, and witness her family's loss from afar.

New U.S. COVID-19 cases rise 17% in past week, deaths up 5%

The weekly number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States rose last week for the first time after falling for eight straight weeks, an increase that health experts attributed to schools reopening and parties over the Labor Day holiday. New cases rose 17% to about 287,000 for the week ended Sept. 20, while deaths rose 5.5% to about 5,400 people after falling for the previous four weeks, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.

UK at critical COVID-19 moment as trend goes in wrong direction

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pondering additional COVID-19 restrictions as Britain is at a critical moment in the novel coronavirus outbreak with the trend going in the wrong direction. "We're certainly at a very critical moment this morning," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky. "It is clear that we are just a few weeks behind what we're seeing elsewhere in Europe."

COVID-19 may damage bone marrow immune cells; another reinfection reported

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 may damage immune cells in the bone marrow.

Exclusive: Study suggests dengue may provide some immunity against COVID-19

A new study that analyzed the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil has found a link between the spread of the virus and past outbreaks of dengue fever that suggests exposure to the mosquito-transmitted illness may provide some level of immunity against COVID-19. The not yet published study led by Miguel Nicolelis, a professor at Duke University, and shared exclusively with Reuters, compared the geographic distribution of coronavirus cases with the spread of dengue in 2019 and 2020.

U.S. CDC takes down coronavirus airborne transmission guidance

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday took down its guidance warning on possible airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus, saying that the draft recommendation was posted in error. The now-withdrawn guidance, posted on the agency's website on Friday, recommended that people use air purifiers to reduce airborne germs indoors to avoid the disease from spreading.

France reports 5,298 new daily COVID-19 cases

French health authorities reported 5,298 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, down from the previous day's increase of 10,569, while intensive care admissions were on the rise. There are traditionally fewer confirmed cases on Monday as less testing is carried out over the weekend.

Trump suggests Pfizer could win U.S. COVID-19 vaccine approval, J&J to come later

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested Pfizer Inc could secure the first U.S. approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in coming weeks, saying a contender by Johnson & Johnson could come later. Asked which drugmaker could be approved, Trump told Fox News in an interview: "Pfizer's doing really well," adding "Johnson & Johnson ... they'll probably be a little later." He also cited efforts by Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc.