Health News Roundup: Biden coronavirus advisers nix national U.S. lockdown; U.S. Secret Service officers sidelined by COVID-19 and more

Biden aide sees local measures, not national lockdown, to fight COVID-19 With cities and states across the United States reimposing restrictions to tame alarming surges in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, a senior adviser to President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday there were no plans for nationwide lockdowns next year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Fauci not advising Biden, sees no reason to quit Trump now: Reuters interview

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said he has had no contact with President-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus transition team and sees no reason to quit to join that effort when there is so much to do now to fight the surging pandemic. "I stay in my lane. I'm not a politician. I do public health things," he said in an interview on Thursday ahead of next week's Reuters Total Health conference.

Biden aide sees local measures, not national lockdown, to fight COVID-19

With cities and states across the United States reimposing restrictions to tame alarming surges in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, a senior adviser to President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday there were no plans for nationwide lockdowns next year. The patchwork of localized measures, many of them announced this week, is likely to stay in place after Democratic former Vice President Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20 following his election defeat of Republican President Donald Trump.

U.S. Secret Service officers sidelined by COVID-19

More than 130 U.S. Secret Service officers assigned to protect President Donald Trump have been sidelined by COVID-19, the Washington Post reported on Friday as the novel coronavirus outbreak spread at the White House. A U.S. government source familiar with the situation confirmed that numerous Secret Service officers had gone into quarantine but did not provide a specific number. Not all those in quarantine had tested positive for COVID-19, the source said.

Cytokinetics heart failure drug succeeds but slightly higher death rate seen: study

Cytokinetics Inc on Friday said a pivotal trial of the experimental heart failure drug it is developing with Amgen Inc showed a slightly higher rate of cardiovascular-related death for patients given the medicine compared to those on a placebo. Details presented at annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) held virtually this year follow the release in October of initial results for the 8,256-patient trial. That announcement said the drug, omecamtiv mecarbil, met its main trial combination goal of reducing the risk of heart related death or need for hospitalization and other urgent care.

Canadians have to tamp down COVID-19 to save Christmas, PM Trudeau says

Canadians have time to tamp down the surging second wave of COVID-19 by Christmas if they act now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday, as he urged provincial leaders to impose more health restrictions for the second time this week. "What we do in the coming days and weeks will determine what we get to do at Christmas," Trudeau said at a news conference.

Biden coronavirus advisers nix national U.S. lockdown

The head of Democratic U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus advisory board said on Friday there was no plan to shut the country down and that the new administration's approach will be targeted at specific areas. Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former U.S. surgeon general tapped to lead the board, said doctors have learned a lot about how the virus spreads and what steps to reduce risk are effective.

U.S. states race to buy ultra cold vaccine freezers, fueling supply worries

U.S. states, cities, and hospitals are scrambling to buy ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, ignoring advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hold off. The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer's vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).

World's top intensive care body advises against remdesivir for sickest COVID patients

Antiviral remdesivir should not be used as a routine treatment for COVID-19 patients in critical care wards, the head of one of the world's top bodies representing intensive care doctors said, in a blow to the drug developed by U.S. firm Gilead. Remdesivir, also known as Veklury, and steroid dexamethasone are the only drugs authorised to treat COVID-19 patients across the world. But the largest study on remdesivir's efficacy, run by the World Health Organization (WHO), showed on Oct. 15 it had little or no impact, contradicting previous trials.

Exclusive: Indonesia to start mass COVID-19 vaccination this year - President

Indonesia has sought emergency authorisation to start a mass vaccination campaign by the end of the year to combat the coronavirus in the archipelago, the Southeast Asian nation's president said on Friday. In an interview with Reuters, President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, said plans were already advanced to distribute the vaccine across the entire country.

Second wave, same strategy: Swedish COVID-19 czar defiant despite surge

Sweden remains steadfast in its strategy of voluntary measures and no lockdowns, the architect of its unorthodox COVID-19 response said on Friday, as the country battles a growing second wave of a disease that has now killed more than 6,000 Swedes. The Nordic nation of 10 million people, whose soft-touch approach to combating the virus has drawn worldwide attention - and harsh domestic criticism from some - has seen a surge in the number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths in recent weeks.