Human trials testing a potential vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus are expected to begin in six weeks, U.S. health officials announced Tuesday. "We are on time at least and maybe even a little bit better," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters at a press conference. "Hopefully, no further glitches." The White House reportedly asked Congress on Monday for $1.25 billion in additional funding to bolster its coronavirus response, including money to develop a vaccine and therapeutics to treat the virus. The National Institutes of Health has been working with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine using the current strain of the coronavirus. —Lovelace 3:49 pm: US health officials say coronavirus will likely cause a global pandemic
The coronavirus outbreak that's shuttered commerce across China will likely become a global pandemic, a top U.S. health official said, adding that it's just a matter of time before the outbreak starts spreading in the U.S. "Current global circumstances suggest it's likely this virus will cause a pandemic," Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters at a news briefing. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen any more, but rather more a question of when this will happen and how many people in this country will become infected and how many of those will develop severe or more complicated disease," she added. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar added: "We can't hermetically seal off the United States." Azar confirmed four new cases of the virus from repatriated cruise ship passengers, bringing the total in the U.S. to 57. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/coronavirus-latest-updates.html [cnbc]
10:11 am: US soldier stationed in South Korea tests positive
A U.S. soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus — marking the first time an American service member has been infected, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK).
Camp Carroll is around 22 km (13 miles) away from the South Korean city of Daegu, where a large number of infections in South Korea has been reported. The soldier also visited Camp Walker, which is around 4 km from Daegu.
>California is monitoring more than 8,400 people for coronavirus symptoms after arrival on commercial flights, but the state lacks test kits and is being held back by federal testing rules, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday.
7:10 pm: Iran's health ministry confirms 245 coronavirus cases; death toll at 26
Iran's health ministry has confirmed 106 additional cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections up to 245.
Iran's death toll as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak has also been raised to 26, Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's health ministry, said Thursday.
Iran is at the epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East, having recorded the highest number of coronavirus fatalities outside China.
Health authorities from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have all reported cases of the coronavirus that stemmed from Iran.
Earlier on Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced it would temporarily suspend the entry of foreigners for pilgrimage and tourism purposes. (See 1:57 p.m. update). — Sam Meredith
Me: I realize that they have a lot of unreported, undiagnosed cases, but Iran's reporting over 10% fatality rate. That's far beyond what anywhere else is reporting.