Health News Roundup: Coronvirus impact will be felt far; EU in talks to secure Sanofi deal for coronavirus vaccine and more

Florida, Mississippi report record increases in COVID-19 deaths Florida reported a record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a fourth day in a row on Friday, with 257 fatalities, according to the state health department.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Coronavirus impact will be felt far into the future - WHO

The global coronavirus outbreak is the sort of disaster whose effects will last far into the future, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday. "The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come," Tedros told a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee, according to remarks released by the agency.

EU in talks to secure Sanofi deal for coronavirus vaccine

Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc on Friday said they are in advanced discussions to supply up to 300 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine for the 27-country European Union. Armed with an emergency fund of more than 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion), the European Commission wants to strike deals with up to six drugmakers for their vaccines for their 450 million citizens against the coronavirus that has killed 674,000 people worldwide.

Mexico to eclipse UK with third highest coronavirus death toll

Mexico is poised to overtake Britain as the country with the third-highest coronavirus death toll as the pandemic reaches new milestones in Latin America and threatens to disrupt efforts to reopen the economy. The unwanted record will place Mexico behind Brazil, Latin America's largest and most populous nation, and the United States. More than 91,000 people have died in Brazil and the U.S. death toll has surpassed 152,000.

Florida sets new coronavirus record as U.S. lawmakers bicker at hearing

Florida, one of the U.S. coronavirus hotspots, reported another record increase in COVID-19 deaths on Friday as the country's top infectious disease expert dodged partisan bickering at a congressional hearing about a national strategy to fight the pandemic. The state health department said Florida registered 257 fatalities, a record for the fourth straight day despite predictions that the U.S. coronavirus epicenter could be shifting to the Midwest.

WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 292,000

The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 292,527. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India, and South Africa, according to a daily report. Deaths rose by 6,812. The four countries have dominated global headlines with large outbreaks.

Large U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trials will exclude pregnant women for now

The first two COVID-19 vaccines to enter large-scale U.S. trials will not be tested in pregnant women this year, raising questions about how this vulnerable population will be protected from the coronavirus, researchers told Reuters. Moderna and Pfizer, which has partnered with Germany’s BioNTech, this week separately launched clinical trials that use a new and unproven gene-based technology. Both companies are requiring proof of a negative pregnancy test and a commitment to using birth control from women of childbearing age who enroll.

Florida, Mississippi report record increases in COVID-19 deaths

Florida reported a record increase in new COVID-19 deaths for a fourth day in a row on Friday, with 257 fatalities, according to the state health department. In numerical terms, the loss of life is roughly equivalent to the number of passengers on a single-aisle airplane.

Trump planning for U.S. rollout of coronavirus vaccine falling short, officials warn

As scientists and pharmaceutical companies work at breakneck speed to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, public health officials and senior U.S. lawmakers are sounding alarms about the Trump administration's lack of planning for its nationwide distribution. The federal government traditionally plays a principal role in funding and overseeing manufacturing and distribution of new vaccines during pandemics, which often draw on scarce ingredients and need to be made, stored, and transported carefully.

Don't sweat it: Chilean dogs sniff out coronavirus in early stages

Chilean police are training sniffer dogs to detect the coronavirus in people's sweat at an early stage after a similar trial in the UK showed encouraging results. Four dogs have been selected for the initial training, a mix of labradors and golden retrievers who sport green "biodetector" jackets for their task. They are being trained at the Chilean Carabineros´ specialist training base in the capital Santiago.

Small children carry high amounts of virus; safely opening colleges will be a challenge

The following is a brief 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. Open https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/yxmvjqywprz/index.html in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.