Health News Roundup: Aspirin to be tested as potential COVID-19 drug in UK study; WHO looking at biosecurity in other countries after Danish COVID-19 mink outbreak and more

U.N. says needs $655 million to avert new measles and polio epidemics Severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to immunisation campaigns against measles and polio are putting millions of vulnerable children at risk from deadly and debilitating diseases, United Nations agencies said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Aspirin to be tested as potential COVID-19 drug in UK study

Painkiller aspirin will be evaluated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in one of Britain's biggest trials, which will assess whether it might reduce the risk of blood clots in people with the disease. The scientists behind the RECOVERY trial, which is looking into a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, said it would include the drug, which is commonly used as a blood thinner.

WHO looking at biosecurity in other countries after Danish COVID-19 mink outbreak

The World Health Organization said on Friday it was looking at biosecurity in countries where there are mink farms after Denmark ordered a nationwide cull of the animals due to a widespread coronavirus outbreak among them. Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID-19, said the transmission of the virus between animals and humans was "a concern". The risk was much lower in animals other than mink, she added.

English COVID infections stabilise at 50,000 per day: ONS estimate

New COVID-19 infections in England have stabilised at around 50,000 a day, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, indicating a levelling off in the steep rise of cases even before England was pushed into a second national lockdown. The ONS said there was an estimated daily 45,700 new cases per day in the week to Oct 31, down slightly from the previous week's estimate of 51,900.

U.S. coronavirus cases climb by record for second day in a row, up over 120,000

Coronavirus cases in the United States surged by at least 120,276 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, the second consecutive daily record rise as the outbreak spreads in every region. U.S. cases have risen by over 100,000 for three out of the last seven days, putting pressure on hospitals in several states and causing families to rethink their plans for Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 26.

Humanigen inks COVID-19 drug development agreement with Department of Defense

Humanigen Inc said on Friday it had entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for testing its drug candidate as a potential COVID-19 treatment following positive response in patients hospitalized with the illness. Shares rose 13% in premarket trading, with the company planning to file for an emergency use approval in the first quarter of 2021 either following interim data at 75% or at study completion.

U.N. says needs $655 million to avert new measles and polio epidemics

Severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to immunisation campaigns against measles and polio are putting millions of vulnerable children at risk from deadly and debilitating diseases, United Nations agencies said on Friday. Issuing an urgent call for funding to avert epidemics of the contagious diseases, the UN children's fund UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said $655 million was needed to address "dangerous immunity gaps" in poor and middle-income countries.

Malaysia reports 1,755 new coronavirus cases, biggest daily jump

Malaysia reported 1,755 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the biggest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, taking the country's tally so far to 38,189 infections. The Southeast Asian country also recorded two new fatalities, raising the death toll from the pandemic to 279.

China will improve contingency plans for COVID-19 clusters in winter: cabinet

China will improve its contingency plans for any COVID-19 cluster cases in the winter, including stepped-up procurement of medical supplies and greater contact-tracing efforts, the country's cabinet said on Friday, according to state TV. China, where the COVID-19 epidemic has been largely brought under control, is facing rising risks of imported cases amid a global resurgence of the pandemic as the northern hemisphere winter sets in. Novartis arthritis drug fails to help COVID-19 patients

Novartis's canakinumab failed to help COVID-19 patients survive without invasive ventilation compared with standard therapy, the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday, dashing hopes the arthritis drug could be repurposed during the pandemic. The medicine, approved as Ilaris for juvenile arthritis and other conditions, also did not meet its key secondary endpoint of reducing COVID-19 mortality in a late-phase clinical trial, the Basel-based drugmaker said. Russia reports record high of 20,582 new coronavirus cases

Russia reported a record high of 20,582 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including 6,253 infections in Moscow, bringing the national tally to 1,733,440. Authorities also reported 378 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 29,887.