Health News Roundup: Mexico registered 184,000 more deaths; France reports nearly 27,000 new COVID-19 cases and more

Drugs, vaccines less effective vs new virus variants; antibody cocktail may protect patients' contacts 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.

France reports nearly 27,000 new COVID-19 cases, biggest jump since November

France reported nearly 27,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest one-day jump since mid-November when France was in its second lockdown and a further sign that a tighter curfew is not containing the virus. The health ministry reported 26,916 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 22,086 on Tuesday and 26,784 last Wednesday, pushing the cumulative total over 3.1 million.

COVID-19 death toll in the Americas reaches 1 million people, says PAHO director

Over one million people in the Americas have now died from complications from COVID-19, the head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, said on Wednesday. There is growing pressure on hospital capacity throughout North America. In some U.S. states, nearly 80% of ICU beds are being used to treat COVID-19 patients, and similar rates are seen in many Mexican states, she warned.

Hopeful signs on pandemic lead some U.S. states to ease coronavirus restrictions

Severe COVID-19 infections are beginning to abate in many parts of the United States even as the death toll mounts, signaling an end to the pandemic's post-holiday surge and prompting some states to ease public health restrictions. A slow but steady reduction in the number of Americans entering hospitals with the disease has paralleled a choppy rollout of vaccines that also are expected to reduce spread of the coronavirus that causes it.

47.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 24.6 million administered: U.S. CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered 24,652,634 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 47,230,950 doses. The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the agency said.

Vaccines versus variants: Israel's exit from pandemic hangs in balance

Israel's plan to parlay its COVID-19 vaccination drive into an exit from the pandemic next month hangs in the balance as new variants of the virus have spurred an increase in infections, a senior official said on Wednesday. Highly infectious foreign variants are currently flooding Israeli hospitals with serious cases and the newly developed vaccines have yet to be proven fully effective against them, Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said.

Drugs, vaccines less effective vs new virus variants; antibody cocktail may protect patients' contacts

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.

Coronavirus variants escape effects of antibody drugs UK plans tough new border measures to combat coronavirus

Britain will announce new tougher border measures on Wednesday to stop new variants of COVID-19 getting into the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he promised to deliver a roadmap out of lockdowns that have shuttered much of the economy. The government is expected to bring in quarantine hotels for those coming to Britain from high-risk countries where new strains of the coronavirus have emerged - so-called red list nations - such as South Africa and those in South America.

Oxford scientists expect some vaccine data on UK mutant virus by next week

The University of Oxford expects efficacy data from a study of its COVID-19 vaccine against the British variant of the novel coronavirus by next week, a lead scientist said on Wednesday at a virtual meeting of a U.S. CDC advisory panel. "Since the middle of December, that (UK) variant has been dominant and spread so rapidly. And so, we should be able to put together an analysis on efficacy against that probably by next week," said Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and chief investigator of the COVID-19 vaccine trials.

Slovakia Holocaust survivors get COVID-19 vaccine on Remembrance Day

Nearly 60 survivors received their COVID-19 vaccination on Holocaust Remembrance Day in Bratislava on Wednesday, completing the inoculation of the city's entire survivor community. The vaccination was held at the city's Jewish Community Centre as Slovakia began inoculating people over 75 - an age group that includes those born before the end of World War II.

Mexico registered 184,000 more deaths in first 8 months of 2020

Deaths in Mexico jumped nearly 37% between January and August as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and 184,000 more people died than during the same period in 2019, Mexico's statistics institute (INEGI) said on Wednesday. INEGI reported 108,658 deaths from COVID-19 during the first eight months of the year. That compares to 64,414 COVID-19 deaths reported by Mexico's health department during the same period.

(With inputs from agencies.)