Health News Roundup: Kremlin says rise in COVID-19 cases 'alarming', but too soon to judge policy; Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race and more

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Nov. 5 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2IbAic2) Common cold antibodies hold clues to COVID-19 behavior; lung scans speed COVID-19 diagnosis in stroke patients 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.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Kremlin says rise in COVID-19 cases 'alarming', but too soon to judge policy

The Kremlin said on Friday it was alarmed by a rise in COVID-19 cases, but it was too early to judge the effectiveness of its policy of trying to contain the disease without a full lockdown. Russia reported a record daily tally of 20,582 new cases, taking its total to 1,733,440 - the world's fourth largest behind the United States, India and Brazil.

Q&A: Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race?

Drugmakers and research centers around the world are working on COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well underway. Some companies had suggested early trial data could be ready for release in October, but have since pushed that back to November and December.

The following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over a million lives worldwide: 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.

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.

U.S. daily coronavirus cases exceed 129,000, third day over 100,000

U.S. coronavirus infections surged by at least 129,606 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, the third consecutive daily rise of more than 100,000 cases as a third wave of COVID-19 sweeps the United States. In the midst of the presidential election, the spike marks the fourth time that more than 100,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported in the world's worst-hit country, which is reporting about 95,000 daily cases on a seven-day average.

Combative U.S. FDA panel votes against Biogen Alzheimer's drug

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted that a potential Alzheimer's treatment from Biogen Inc has not been proven to slow progression of the disease, a sharp rebuke to agency staff who earlier this week praised the drug. The FDA still could decide to approve the drug, aducanumab, making it the first new Alzheimer's treatment in decades. But the group of scientific advisers made their doubts about the treatment clear.

U.S. CDC reports 234,264 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 9,581,770 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 117,988 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,135 to 234,264. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Nov. 5 versus its previous report a day earlier.

Common cold antibodies hold clues to COVID-19 behavior; lung scans speed COVID-19 diagnosis in stroke patients

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. Common cold antibodies yield clues to COVID-19 behavior Argentina 'could receive' 750,000 doses of eventual Pfizer vaccine: Fernandez

Argentina President Alberto Fernandez said on Friday his country could receive 750,000 doses of an eventual coronavirus vaccine from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc in December, a glimmer of hope as cases in the South American nation show signs of receding following months of quarantine. The announcement comes just days after the country said it was expecting to receive at least 10 million doses of Russia's main experimental COVID-19 vaccine, known as Sputnik V, between December and January.

Second Mexican state to enter highest coronavirus alert level

A second Mexican state will from next week enter the highest level of coronavirus alert as authorities bid to contain a recent jump in infections in the north of the country, the health ministry said on Friday. The northern state of Durango will as of Monday join Chihuahua, a neighboring region on the U.S. border, in the red alert phase following an increase in hospitalizations.