Health

The U.S. agreed to pay $1.95 billion for 100 million doses of a vaccine made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the government’s latest step to lock up supplies to fight the pandemic. The U.S. will pay the companies when it receives the doses, following regulatory authorization or approval, according …

Global coronavirus infections surged past 15 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic gathering pace even as countries remain divided in their response to the crisis. In the United States, which has the highest number of cases in the world with 3.91 million infections, President Donald …

Cinnamon may improve blood sugar control in people with a condition known as prediabetes and may slow the progression to type 2 diabetes, according to a new pilot study of 51 people with elevated blood sugars. “We are looking for safe, durable and cost-effective approaches to reduce the progression from …

Russia’s novel coronavirus vaccine trials were successfully completed on Monday and the results indicated long-term immunity could be established, Russia’s ministry of defense said. “The Russian Defence Ministry together with the Gamaleya [Gamalei] Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has successfully completed clinical trials of the vaccine against COVID-19 …

The Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo’s northwest is growing, according to health officials, sounding the alarm weeks after the country officially declared an end to a separate Ebola epidemic which claimed over 2,000 lives. There have been 54 confirmed cases since June 1 in Mbandaka, a transport hub in …

Countries from the U.S. to South Africa to India were struggling to hold down rising rates of the coronavirus, as global deaths from COVID-19 surged past 600,000 in a sign of how far off the world remains from a return to normalcy. While the U.S. leads global infections, South Africa …

Scientists have identified six distinct types of COVID-19 – each with a specific collection of symptoms – in a breakthrough that could help doctors predict which patients are most at risk. The different forms of the disease are believed to determine its severity among those infected – and whether they …

The United States saw more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases for a second straight day on Friday, with 71,600 new cases reported across the country. Thursday saw an all-time daily high of 77,300 new confirmed cases, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. total confirmed case count …

Fresh studies give more information about what treatments do or don’t work for COVID-19, with high-quality methods that give reliable results. British researchers on Friday published their research on the only drug shown to improve survival — a cheap steroid called dexamethasone. Two other studies found that malaria drug hydroxychloroquine …

The European Union is negotiating advance purchase deals of potential COVID-19 vaccines with drugmakers Moderna, Sanofi, and Johnson & Johnson and biotech firms BioNtech and CureVac, two EU sources told Reuters. The talks follow a deal reached in June by four EU states with AstraZeneca for the upfront purchase of …

Fresh coronavirus outbreaks, even in places as far-flung as China’s western Xinjiang region, are prompting moves to guard against the pandemic, as the number of cases approaches 14 million. India on Friday said it had surpassed 1 million cases, third only to the United States and Brazil, with more than …

Britain, the United States, and Canada accused Russian hackers on Thursday of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a coronavirus vaccine, warning scientists and pharmaceutical companies to be alert for suspicious activity. Intelligence agencies in the three nations alleged that the hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear …

Can a pregnant woman spread the coronavirus to her fetus? It’s possible, but it seems to be relatively rare and scientists think they know why that is. Many viruses can cross the placenta and infect a fetus in the womb, and evidence has been growing that the coronavirus sometimes can …

The first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday. The shots are poised to begin key final testing. “No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease …

People who have recovered from COVID-19 may lose their immunity to the disease within months, according to research suggesting the virus could re-infect people year after year, like common colds.  In the first longitudinal study of its kind, scientists analyzed the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the prospect of returning to normal life will not be possible for the “foreseeable future” as many countries have untimely eased restrictions in their fight against the new coronavirus pandemic. WHO’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raised the alarm on Monday and …

A Mongolian teenager diagnosed with bubonic plague died on Monday. The 15-year-old reportedly contracted the deadly disease after consuming marmot meat. The boy ate the infected meat with his two friends, whose condition is currently unknown. People who have been in contact with them have now been isolated and vaccinated, …

As the race to find a novel coronavirus vaccine continues across the globe, Russia has reportedly become the first country to complete clinical trials of a vaccine candidate, with the potential to be distributed from around mid-August. A vaccine could be rolled out across the U.K. by the first half …

The number of infections with the novel coronavirus has surpassed 13 million worldwide with the deaths exceeding 571,000 and recoveries over 7.58 million, according to Worldometer figures. According to the latest figures on Monday morning (+3:00 GMT), 13,069,861 people have so far been infected with the novel coronavirus globally, with …

Enough coronavirus vaccine doses for everyone in UK ‘in first half of next year’ if trials succeed, research chief says Enough vaccine doses are being made for everybody in the UK in “the first half of next year”, says the head of the team at Imperial College – if trials …