Health News Roundup: Fauci bullish on prospects for U.S. vaccine; Vaccine alliance says 75 countries keen to join "COVAX" and more

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 July 14 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2CecgtY) Early-stage trial data on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due July 20 - Lancet The Lancet medical journal said on Wednesday it will publish keenly-awaited phase 1 clinical trial data on a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Astrazeneca and Oxford University on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Fauci bullish on prospects for U.S. vaccine, not worried about China winning race

The leading U.S. expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicted on Wednesday the country will meet its goal of a coronavirus vaccine by year's end and was unmoved by the prospect that China would get there first. While there are no guarantees, "I feel good about the projected timetable," Fauci told Reuters in an interview.

Vaccine alliance says 75 countries keen to join "COVAX" access facility

More than 75 countries have expressed interest in joining the COVAX financing scheme designed to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines, the GAVI vaccines alliance said on Wednesday. The 75 countries, which would finance the vaccines from public budgets, will partner with up to 90 poorer countries supported through voluntary donations to GAVI's COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the alliance said in a statement.

Lung radiation shows promise for COVID-19 pneumonia; smoking raises risks

The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Lung radiation may hasten COVID-19 pneumonia recovery.

Fauci calls White House criticism of him bizarre, says 'let's stop this nonsense' and fight coronavirus

U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Wednesday called the White House effort to discredit him "bizarre" and urged an end to the divisiveness over the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "let's stop this nonsense." Fauci, who has become a popular and trusted figure during the coronavirus outbreak, came under criticism from President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies as Fauci cautioned against reopening the U.S. economy too soon.

U.S. CDC reports 3,416,428 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 3,416,428 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 60,971 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 773 to 135,991. 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 July 14 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2CecgtY)

Early-stage trial data on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due July 20 - Lancet

The Lancet medical journal said on Wednesday it will publish keenly-awaited phase 1 clinical trial data on a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Monday. "We expect this paper, which is undergoing final editing and preparation, to be published on Monday, July 20, for immediate release," a spokeswoman for the journal said.

Over 224,000 COVID-19 deaths forecast in US by November 1, says University of Washington's IHME

A newly revised University of Washington model projects the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 will climb to just above 224,000 by Nov. 1, up 16,000 from a prior forecast, due to rising infections and hospitalizations in many states. But the latest forecast from the university's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), released late on Tuesday, also predicts the death toll could be reduced by 40,000 if nearly all Americans wore masks in public.

Venezuela coronavirus cases spike, opposition warns healthcare system may be overwhelmed

Coronavirus cases in Venezuela have jumped in recent weeks and two top lieutenants of President Nicolas Maduro have tested positive, triggering warnings from health workers that the pandemic may overwhelm the country's already battered healthcare system. Venezuela's case count began to accelerate last month and is rising by more than 30% every week, according to Dr. Julio Castro, part of a medical advisory team working with opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Moderna Phase 1 results show coronavirus vaccine safe, induces immune response

Moderna Inc's experimental vaccine for COVID-19 showed it was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. Volunteers who got two doses of the vaccine had high levels of virus-killing antibodies that exceeded the average levels seen in people who had recovered from COVID-19, the team reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

As Canada nears zero COVID-19 deaths, officials fear reopening spike, U.S. risk

Canada's efforts to flatten the curve of coronavirus cases have put the country on the cusp of zero deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since March, but officials see worrying signs of a new spike as provinces lift restrictions. For months, Canadians followed strict public health rules on social movement as the 10 provinces quickly shut down large parts of the economy, ramped up testing and boosted space in intensive care units.