Health News Roundup: EU to order more Pfizer vaccine after declining earlier offer; Macron tests positive for COVID-19, forcing leaders to self isolate and more

Macron tests positive for COVID-19, forcing leaders to self isolate French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said on Thursday, sparking a track and trace effort targeting EU leaders and senior officials who met him in recent days.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Storm may help U.S. Northeast contain coronavirus but could disrupt vaccine delivery

A winter storm that has blasted the U.S. Northeast with snow, rain and gusty winds was likely to dump a foot (30 cm) or more of snow on parts of New England before heading out to sea on Thursday. The first major snowstorm of the season forced much of the population to obey stay-at-home coronavirus orders, but also disrupted travel, possibly including distribution of the new COVID-19 vaccine.

U.S. vaccine campaign grows as COVID-19 kills 3,000-plus Americans daily

The United States on Wednesday widened its network for administering COVID-19 vaccines to doctors and nurses on the frontlines of a pandemic killing more than 3,000 Americans a day, even as a major storm threatened to slow progress on the East Coast. While medical professionals at a growing number of hospitals rolled up their sleeves, lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they were nearing a long-elusive bipartisan deal on $900 billion in economic relief to pandemic-hit U.S. workers and businesses.

Real thing or placebo? My COVID-19 vaccine odyssey continues

The subject line on the email I received last week said simply, "Test." It contained the results of a private blood test I had undergone the day before. I opened the attachment with excitement and some trepidation - I believed it would likely reveal whether I am already vaccinated against COVID-19, or if I received a placebo.

Moderna's coronavirus vaccine faces U.S. FDA expert panel review

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to endorse emergency use of Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine during a meeting on Thursday, as the nation prepares to roll out a second vaccine. The panel vote on whether the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks is likely to come some time after 3 pm ET (2000 GMT), with an FDA authorization expected as soon as Friday.

EU states to start COVID-19 vaccinations from Dec. 27

European Union states will start vaccinations against COVID-19 in 10 days as Europe tries to catch up with Britain and United States after what some have criticised as a slow EU approval process for the shots. The Dec. 27 start date - confirmed by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Austria, Germany and Italy - will be almost three weeks after the world's first fully-tested COVID-19 vaccination was administered in England.

More of England put under most stringent COVID measures

A wider area of east and southeast England will be placed under the most stringent restrictions to tackle the rising number of COVID-19 infections from this weekend, British health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday. Britain, like other countries, is struggling to tame a second wave of novel coronavirus cases and rising deaths, with the government under pressure for pressing ahead with its decision to relax measures for five days over Christmas.

EU to order more Pfizer vaccine after declining earlier offer

The European Union will take up its option to buy up to 100 million more doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine after turning down an opportunity in July for a much bigger deal, according to EU officials and an internal document. The plan comes after some of the vaccine candidates ordered by the EU faced unexpected delays in clinical trials, forcing the bloc and other wealthy nations to rely for now on shots from fewer manufacturers than initially planned.

Macron tests positive for COVID-19, forcing leaders to self isolate

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said on Thursday, sparking a track and trace effort targeting EU leaders and senior officials who met him in recent days. "The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 today," Macron's office said in a statement. "This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms."

Putin says he will receive COVID-19 vaccine when he can, urges mass vaccination

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was yet to be inoculated with the Russian-made vaccine against COVID-19 but that he would do so when possible. Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin also said Russia needed to step up production of its Sputnik V vaccine and that some of its components could be made abroad.

Pence, Biden to get COVID vaccine in bid to build public support

Vice President Mike Pence will publicly receive the coronavirus vaccine on Friday as the Trump administration scrambles to build public support for an inoculation that promises to stanch the deadly pandemic. Pence will be the most high-profile recipient to date of a vaccine that was rolled out in the United States this week with high hopes of curbing a virus that has killed more than 300,000 Americans.