Health News Roundup: U.S. reports about 300,000 more deaths during pandemic than in typical year; Brazil health minister ill with suspected case of COVID-19 and more

Details posted on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website showed the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has formulated plans to monitor safety and effectiveness of a vaccine even after the FDA allows for its emergency use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 300,000 more people had died nationwide in 2020 than in a typical year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Australia's Victoria state paves way for pop up dining as virus cases remain low

Australia's most heavily hit coronavirus state of Victoria logged a sixth consecutive day of low single digit new cases on Wednesday, as the state government said it was on track to announce fresh easing measures at the weekend. "We do genuinely hope on Sunday to make some announcements in the future and if these numbers stay on trend we will be able to do that," Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference.

Mexico asks cemeteries to close ahead of holiday, fearing coronavirus rebound

Mexican authorities are calling on cemeteries to close to public visitors ahead of the Day of the Dead, a celebration that usually draws hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, as officials strive to avert another wave of coronavirus infections. The Nov. 1-2 celebration blends Catholic rituals and the pre-Hispanic belief that the dead return once a year from the underworld, and believers throng cemeteries and public plazas on those days.

U.S. FDA meeting on COVID-19 vaccines to discuss criteria for emergency nod

The U.S. health regulator's criteria for allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine and plans to monitor its safety after a regulatory go-ahead, are among the topics to be discussed at a closely watched meeting scheduled for Thursday. Details posted on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website showed the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has formulated plans to monitor safety and effectiveness of a vaccine even after the FDA allows for its emergency use.

U.S. coronavirus aid talks imperiled amid Republican opposition

The White House and Democrats in the U.S. Congress moved closer to agreement on a new coronavirus relief package on Tuesday as President Donald Trump said he was willing to accept a large aid bill despite opposition from his own Republican Party. With just two weeks until the U.S. presidential election, Trump signaled a willingness to go along with more than $2.2 trillion in new COVID-19 relief, a figure Democrats have been pushing for months.

Brazil health minister ill with suspected case of COVID-19

Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello has fallen ill with a suspected case of COVID-19, the ministry's press office said on Tuesday, as the country battles with the third-worst coronavirus outbreak globally, with nearly 5.3 million cases. The ministry said Pazuello had a fever on Tuesday and would be tested for COVID-19. On Monday, the minister had missed a public event with President Jair Bolsonaro.

GSK to launch late-stage testing of syncytial virus vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline said it would move its experimental vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a cause of pneumonia in toddlers and the elderly, into the final stage of testing, encouraged by mid-stage trial results. RSV vaccine development has been fraught with setbacks for decades but the pharma industry is gearing up to bring a first inoculation to market over the next few years.

Chinese city to offer COVID-19 vaccine candidate as emergency use expands

A city in China's Zhejiang province will offer experimental coronavirus vaccines to its residents, as China broadens an emergency use programme to people in non-priority groups. Residents aged between 18 and 59 in the city of Shaoxing, who are not in priority groups, can apply online for inoculation, the city's health commission said on Tuesday on its WeChat account. It did not name the vaccine, say when inoculation would start or how many doses would be offered.

COVID-19: U.S. Northeast states discourage travel; California rebuffs theme parks

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Tuesday urged their residents to not travel between the three states as the U.S. Northeast sees a rise in COVID-19 cases, while California said major theme parks including Disneyland would not be opening anytime soon. The moves in two of the most populous regions of the United States came during a new surge in coronavirus infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 300,000 more people had died nationwide in 2020 than in a typical year.

Exclusive: U.S. trial of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may resume this week - sources

AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine trial in the United States is expected to resume as early as this week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of a serious illness in a study participant, four sources told Reuters. AstraZeneca's large, late-stage U.S. trial has been on hold since Sept. 6, after a participant in the company's UK trial fell ill with what was suspected to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.

U.S. reports about 300,000 more deaths during pandemic than in typical year

Nearly 300,000 more people have died in the United States in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic than would be expected based on historical trends, with at least two-thirds due to COVID-19, a government report released on Tuesday showed, adding that COVID deaths likely were undercounted. The report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 299,028 more people died between Jan. 26 and Oct. 3 than the average numbers from past years would have indicated.

(With inputs from agencies.)