Health News Roundup: American anxiety over coronavirus spikes along with record high cases; EU in talks with Gilead to get remdesivir and more

Brazil to test Sinovac's potential vaccine against COVID-19 in six states A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac will be tested in Brazil by 12 research centers in six Brazilian states, the governor of Sao Paulo state, Joao Doria, said on Wednesday, adding the trials still need to be approved by local health vigilance agency Anvisa.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

American anxiety over coronavirus spikes along with record high cases - Reuters/Ipsos poll

Anxiety over the coronavirus is rising among Americans along with new COVID-19 cases, reaching the highest level in more than a month, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, a day after the biggest single-day jump in U.S. infections since the pandemic began. With the U.S. death toll at more than 127,000 - about a quarter of the entire global tally - the June 29-30 poll found that 81% of American adults said they are "very" or "somewhat" concerned about the pandemic, the most since a similar poll conducted May 11-12.

EU in talks with Gilead to get remdesivir doses for EU countries

The European Commission said on Wednesday it was in negotiations with Gilead Sciences Inc to obtain doses of COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir for the 27 European Union countries. The Commission said it took note of the announcement that the United States had secured nearly all of Gilead's projected production capacity for the next three months. Remdevisir is set to be approved for use in Europe in the coming days.

WHO warns some nations still face 'long, hard' battle with COVID-19

Nations who fail to use every mechanism available to combat the still-raging novel coronavirus will struggle to beat it, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. "Some countries ... have taken a fragmented approach. These countries face a long, hard road ahead," Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva, without singling out any nations.

New York expands coronavirus testing criteria to include everyone in state

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded coronavirus testing criteria to include all New Yorkers on Wednesday. "We are now opening testing to all New Yorkers," he told reporters. "We have that much capacity."

U.S. COVID-19 deaths likely higher than reported, study shows

The number of Americans who died from COVID-19 in March through May was likely significantly higher than the official U.S. count due in part to state-level reporting discrepancies, according to a study published on Wednesday. The overall number of U.S. deaths for any cause tallied by the National Center for Health Statistics during March, April, and May was 781,000, or 122,300 more than the historical average for the period, according to the study funded by the National Institutes of Health and private foundations published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

World takes stock of COVID-19 drug remdesivir after U.S. snaps up supplies

Some governments in Europe and Asia said on Wednesday they have enough of Gilead's COVID-19 anti-viral remdesivir for now despite fears of shortages since the U.S. drugmaker pledged most output to its home market for the next three months. The pharmaceutical company's move stirred the global debate about equitable access to drugs and brought concerns about accessibility, especially in regions where coronavirus rates are still high or there have been new outbreaks.

BioNTech and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine shows potential in human trial

A COVID-19 vaccine developed by German biotech firm BioNTech and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has shown potential and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials, the companies said on Wednesday. The drug is one of 17 being tested on humans in a frantic global race to find a vaccine the world is counting on to end a pandemic that has infected 10.5 million people and killed more than half a million so far.

U.S. CDC reports 2,624,873 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 2,624,873 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 43,644 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 560 to 127,299. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on June 30 compared with its previous report a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/31sxbnj)

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine developers encouraged by immune response but cautious on timeframe

A leading scientist behind the University of Oxford's potential COVID-19 vaccine said on Wednesday the team has seen the right sort of immune response in trials but declined to give a firm timeframe for when it could be ready. Speaking at a parliamentary hearing, Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the university, said 8,000 volunteers had been enrolled for the Phase III of its trial into the vaccine, AZD1222, which was licensed to AstraZeneca.

Brazil to test Sinovac's potential vaccine against COVID-19 in six states

A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac will be tested in Brazil by 12 research centers in six Brazilian states, the governor of Sao Paulo state, Joao Doria, said on Wednesday, adding the trials still need to be approved by local health vigilance agency Anvisa. The study - first announced on June 11 - is led by Instituto Butantan, a research center funded by the state of Sao Paulo. The agreement with Sinovac includes not only trials but also the transference of technology to produce the coronavirus vaccine locally.