Health Highlights: Oct. 1, 2020

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

No Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Until Next Spring

Moderna won’t have a coronavirus vaccine available for widespread use until next spring at the earliest, the company’s CEO said Wednesday.

Stephane Bancel said Moderna won’t be ready to seek U.S. approval for the vaccine to be used in the general population until at least late January. If it’s proven safe and effective, the vaccine isn’t likely to be available for nationwide use until later March or early April, CBS News reported.

Moderna earlier this month said it expected to have enough vaccine testing data to apply for emergency use authorization for frontline medical workers and other at-risk people by Nov. 1, but that’s been pushed back to Nov. 25, according to a company spokesperson.

Late-stage testing is being conducted on seven potential coronavirus vaccines. About one-third of all vaccine candidates make it through all phases of testing, Deutsche Bank analysts say, CBS News reported.

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Trump Administration Blocks CDC No-Sail Order for Cruise Ships

Extension of a no-sail order for U.S. cruise ships until mid-February has been blocked by the Trump administration.

The current order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to expire Wednesday and the agency recommended it be extended to prevent cruise ships from becoming coronavirus hot spots, as they were at the start of the pandemic, The New York Times reported.

But the extension was overruled at a meeting of the coronavirus task force on Tuesday, and cruise ships will be allowed to sail after Oct. 31.

The extension of the no-sail order was rejected because it would have upset the politically powerful tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida, The Times reported.

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