Health News Roundup: AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine follows genetic instructions; Canada launches pilot program testing travelers and more

UK PM Johnson says COVID trace scheme needs improvement after new low British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday England's test and trace scheme needed improvement after a record low proportion of contacts of positive COVID-19 cases were reached in the latest weekly figures.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Study finds AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine follows genetic instructions

AstraZeneca's Oxford COVID-19 vaccine accurately follows the genetic instructions programmed into it by its developers to successfully provoke a strong immune response, according to a detailed analysis carried out by independent UK scientists. "The vaccine is doing everything we expected and that is only good news in our fight against the illness," said David Matthews, an expert in virology from Bristol University, who led the research.

Canada launches pilot program testing travelers to cut down on quarantine time

The Canadian government and the province of Alberta are launching a pilot program to test eligible returning travelers for COVID-19, allowing them to leave quarantine once they receive a negative result, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said on Thursday. The move could potentially bring relief to the country's struggling airline and tourism industries, which have lobbied the federal government to ease travel restrictions and a strict 14-day quarantine rule.

U.S. COVID-19 single-day deaths top 1,200 for first time since August

The number of coronavirus deaths reported in the United States on Wednesday reached its highest in two months, offering more evidence that the pandemic was gaining fresh momentum across the country as cooler weather sets in. COVID-19 deaths nationwide had averaged about 700 a day for much of October before rising to 1,237 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters analysis, the most since Aug. 19.

France extends curfew as COVID second wave surges in Europe

France extended curfews to around two thirds of its population on Thursday and Belgium's foreign minister was taken into intensive care with COVID-19, as the second wave of the pandemic surged across Europe. French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a curfew imposed last week on Paris and eight other cities would be extended to 38 more departments, confining 46 million out of the country's 67 million population to their homes from 9 pm to 6 am.

U.S. CDC reports 221,438 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 8,312,667 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 63,656 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,076 to 221,438. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on Oct. 21 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/3dQV9gb)

Gilead's remdesivir gets U.S. FDA approval for use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19, making it the first and only drug approved for the disease. Gilead said it is currently meeting real-time demand for remdesivir, which is sold under the brand name Veklury, in the United States and anticipates meeting global demand by the end of October.

Brazil's Bolsonaro chats with coronavirus-infected health minister wearing no mask

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday visited Health Minister General Eduardo Pazuello, who has COVID-19, and made his point that the disease is easy to recover quickly from with the help of the controversial drug chloroquine. The two men chatted and joked without wearing masks in Pazuello's hotel room, seen in a video posted on social media by the president, who recovered from a bout of COVID-19 in July.

Trump tests negative for coronavirus ahead of debate: aide

U.S. President Donald Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday ahead of the final presidential debate against Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden before the Nov. 3 election, his chief of staff Mark Meadows said. Trump was hospitalized with the highly contagious novel coronavirus days after his first debate with Biden. Participants were to have been tested for the virus before the Sept. 29 debate. The White House and Trump have repeatedly declined to say when the president last tested negative before that event.

UK PM Johnson says COVID trace scheme needs improvement after new low

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday England's test and trace scheme needed improvement after a record low proportion of contacts of positive COVID-19 cases were reached in the latest weekly figures. Just 59.6% of contacts of positive COVID cases were reached between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14, statistics for England's Test and Trace scheme showed - compared with the 80% target - with turnaround times for people receiving their results also getting slower.

Pfizer, J&J urge clarity from FDA on future of COVID-19 vaccine trials once a vaccine is available

Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson are seeking input from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on retaining and attracting volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine trials after a vaccine becomes available, if they know they might receive a placebo. Both U.S. companies are among a handful with pivotal, late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trials underway.

(With inputs from agencies.)