Health News Roundup: 17. U.S. CDC reports 300,032 deaths from coronavirus; In Chicago, a community mourns a grandmother lost to COVID-19 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 Dec. 14 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/31Dqz4H) EU planning to buy 180 million additional vaccine doses - Spiegel The European Commission is planning to exercise options to buy 180 million additional doses of coronavirus vaccine, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Moderna nears U.S. authorization for COVID-19 shot with FDA staff endorsement

Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appeared set for regulatory authorization this week after U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff endorsed it as safe and effective in documents released Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S. and the government is counting on the Moderna shot to help fulfill its promise to inoculate 20 million this month.

Canada expects 168,000 Moderna vaccine doses by year end, PM Trudeau says

Canada will receive tens of thousands of doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year, and 200,000 more doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot are expected next week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. "Canada is now contracted to receive up to 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before the end of December, pending Health Canada approval," Trudeau said in a news conference.

France's new coronavirus cases up, hospitalisations resume downward trend

The number of people admitted to hospital for COVID-19 in France resumed its decline on Tuesday, ending three straight days of increases as the country replaced a second national lockdown with a nightly curfew. Patients in intensive care - the most important measure of a health system's ability to deal with the pandemic - also went down by 25 to 2,881, resuming a continuous decline since Nov.

17. U.S. CDC reports 300,032 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 16,317,892 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 204,748 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,766 to 300,032. 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 Dec. 14 versus its previous report a day earlier.

EU planning to buy 180 million additional vaccine doses - Spiegel

The European Commission is planning to exercise options to buy 180 million additional doses of coronavirus vaccine, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday. The Commission is planning to buy 80 million additional doses from U.S. manufacturer Moderna and 100 million from German company BioNtech and its U.S. partner Pfizer, Spiegel reported.

'I couldn't wait': U.S. vaccine reaches more workers on pandemic's front lines

The United States extended its rollout of the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, inoculating healthcare workers as part of a massive campaign to protect all Americans and contain a U.S. outbreak that has killed more than 300,000 people. Distribution of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE began on Monday, three days after it won U.S. emergency-use authorization.

In Chicago, a community mourns a grandmother lost to COVID-19

On Dec. 1, 2020, at 4:40 pm, Roseland Community Hospital nurse Alma Abad entered the isolation room of COVID-19 patient Florence Bolton with an iPad donated to the hospital to allow the sick to communicate with their families. Florence lay on her intensive care bed, covered in blankets. Her grandchildren, Sammie Michael Dent, Jr., and Tamara Tucker, watched as the nurse took off their grandmother's ventilator and brought the tablet near to her face.

Merkel tells German lawmakers she is worried by coronavirus trend - sources

Chancellor Angela Merkel told conservative lawmakers on Tuesday "I am worried" about the coronavirus trend in Germany, sources at the meeting said. Merkel warned the lawmakers that January and February will be very tough months in Germany, with the number of patients in intensive care rising further.

FDA authorizes first over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen test

The U.S. Food and Drug administration on Tuesday authorized emergency use of the first over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen test, which can be used at home. The test by Ellume offers a nasal swab analyzer that connects to a software application on users' smartphone, and gives results in 20 minutes.

Europe set to approve COVID-19 vaccine in Christmas week

Europeans are set to start getting coronavirus vaccines before the new year after the regional drug regulator accelerated its approval process following the launch of immunisation campaigns in the United States and Britain. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said an expert panel would convene on Monday Dec. 21 to evaluate the vaccine made by U.S. company Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. It had previously said the meeting could be as late as Dec 29.