Health News

Coronavirus is spreading fast through Brazil's indigenous populations, with deaths caused by the disease increasing more than five-fold in the past month, according to data collected by a national association of first peoples.

Scientists in Sweden are hoping an alpaca named Tyson can help deliver a knockout blow in the fight to develop a treatment or vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has killed nearly 400,000 people worldwide.

A top U.S. health official cautioned on Thursday that protests sweeping across the country could increase the spread of the novel coronavirus, particularly in cities that have struggled to control the outbreak, and that participants should "highly consider" getting tested.

Confirmed new coronavirus infections in France rose by 767 to 152,444 on the 25th day since lockdown ended on May 11, the health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

U.S. laboratories testing patients for COVID-19 are required to report data such as a patient's age and ethnicity along with test results, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca has doubled manufacturing capacity for its potential coronavirus vaccine to 2 billion doses in two deals involving Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates that guarantee early supply to lower income countries.

European countries cautiously emerging from the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic are looking to a second generation of contact tracing apps to help contain further outbreaks.

Protesters particularly in cities that have struggled to control the novel coronavirus should "highly consider" getting tested for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, a top U.S. health official said on Thursday.

Spain's overall death toll from the coronavirus edged higher on Thursday, though discrepancies between regional and national data raised questions over the methodology used by the government to produce the tally.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,842,101 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 14,676 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 827 to 107,029.

Britain's AstraZeneca will continue to look for more production partners for the experimental vaccine it is working on with Oxford University but it may be nearing a ceiling with plans laid out so far to make 2 billion doses.

Sweden will ease restrictions on domestic travel from June 13, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Thursday, despite signs that novel coronavirus infections are increasing in parts of the country.

Spain played down the possibility of reopening its land borders on June 22 after a government minister announced earlier on Thursday it would do so, prompting confusion in neighbouring Portugal, which asked for clarification.

African countries have secured 90 million test kits for the novel coronavirus for the next six months, a regional disease control body said on Thursday, urging states and donors to boost testing capabilities on the continent as quickly as possible.

Nearly 30,000 COVID-19 tests which Britain sent to a U.S. lab for processing came back void, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Thursday, adding to a mounting pile of questions over the UK's testing regime.

Moderna Inc on Thursday named David Meline its chief financial officer, as the company develops a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

The Trump administration has selected five companies, including Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer Inc, as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior officials.

A field hospital hastily constructed to ease the burden on Stockholm hospitals dealing with a flood of COVID-19 cases will be dismantled in the wake of slowdown in the pandemic, a healthcare official said on Thursday.

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Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday it plans to begin human trials of its potential COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea later in June, with support from Seoul-headquartered partner, non-profit organization International Vaccine Institute.