Health News Roundup: Austria's daily coronavirus tally surges past 4,000 to new record; Merkel decries populists who say coronavirus is harmless and more

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: UK tries to avoid national lockdown Moderna says on track to report late-stage COVID-19 vaccine data next month Moderna Inc is on track to report early data from a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate next month, the company said on Thursday, offering the clearest timeline yet on when the world will know whether the vaccine is effective.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Singapore firm invents coronavirus breathalyser with results in seconds

A company in Singapore has developed a breathalyser test for the new coronavirus which it says will enable people to know whether they are infected in under a minute. Breathonix, a startup firm from the National University of Singapore, says its test achieved more than 90% accuracy in a pilot clinical trial of 180 people in the city-state and hopes to get regulatory approval early next year.

Analysis: U.S. drugmakers, bracing for price cuts, shift election support toward Democrats

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry, long a supporter of Republicans, is giving almost half its political donations to Democratic candidates in this year's election, as companies look to fend off a threat to drug prices if Democrats gain power. So far this year, industry-run political action committees (PACs) have divided about $13 million between the two major U.S. political parties, with 54% to Republicans and 46% to Democrats, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) reviewed by Reuters.

Britain pressed to follow French and German lockdowns as COVID rates surge

Britain resisted pressure on Thursday to impose a second nationwide lockdown after France and Germany ordered sweeping restrictions on social life to contain a surge in coronavirus infections that has pushed health services to their limits. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has so far tried to avoid a nationwide lockdown, opting instead for a tiered system of local controls intended to tighten measures in affected regions while leaving others less restricted.

United to give travelers free COVID-19 tests on select Newark-London flights

United Airlines said on Thursday it will offer free rapid COVID-19 tests to customers on select transatlantic flights, as part of a four-week pilot program aimed at eventually relaxing quarantines that have crippled air travel. Chicago-based United said the program would give Abbott Laboratories' rapid molecular ID Now tests, which take about 15 to 20 minutes, to all passengers above age 2.

White House advisers warn of 'unrelenting' COVID-19 spread in U.S. Midwest, West

The White House coronavirus task force is warning of a persistent and broad spread of COVID-19 in the western half of the United States and its members urged aggressive mitigation measures. "We are on a very difficult trajectory. We're going in the wrong direction," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, task force member and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Putin says Russian COVID-19 vaccines effective, eyes mass vaccinations

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian COVID-19 experimental vaccines were effective and that Russia hoped to start mass vaccinations by the end of the year.

Putin was speaking by video link to an investor forum in Russia. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: UK tries to avoid national lockdown Moderna says on track to report late-stage COVID-19 vaccine data next month

Moderna Inc is on track to report early data from a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate next month, the company said on Thursday, offering the clearest timeline yet on when the world will know whether the vaccine is effective. The company, one of the front-runners in the global race to produce a vaccine, said its independent data monitoring committee is expected to conduct an interim review of its ongoing 30,000-volunteer late-stage trial in November.

Austria's daily coronavirus tally surges past 4,000 to new record

Austria's daily tally of new coronavirus cases has surged past 4,000 to a new record of 4,453, newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Oesterreich reported on Thursday before the figure's official publication. Infections in Austria have been rising steadily but the country has only relatively lenient restrictions in place to slow the spread of the virus - shops, bars, restaurants and theatres remain open.

Merkel decries populists who say coronavirus is harmless

Populists who purport the coronavirus is harmless are dangerous and irresponsible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, defending a circuit break lockdown announced on Wednesday that is aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. "It is only with solidarity and transparency that we will be able to confront the pandemic," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament, adding the pandemic was a challenge to the democratic system.