Reuters Health News Summary

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.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. UK reports 24,957 new COVID cases, 413 more deaths

Britain reported 24,957 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 413 deaths from the virus, both up on figures from the day before, government data showed. 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. Argentina agrees deal for 22 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

Argentina has struck a deal with drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to receive around 22 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine being developed with the University of Oxford, with the aim to start deliveries in the first half of next year. The drugmaker, one of a number developing vaccines worldwide to fight the novel coronavirus, said in a statement circulated by the government on Saturday that the delivery time-frame depended on ongoing trials being successful and obtaining necessary approvals by regulatory authorities. Slovakia's second round of coronavirus tests draws large crowds

Slovakia held a second round of nationwide coronavirus testing on Saturday in an effort to curb increasing infections, with more than half a million people screened by noon. Last weekend, more than 3.6 million people - two thirds of the population - took part in the first round of a scheme that other nations are studying as they look for ways protect their health systems. 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.(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. Common cold antibodies yield clues to COVID-19 behavior 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.