Health News Roundup: Virus was direct cause of death for 89% of Italian COVID; Georgia governor, mayors embroiled in latest COVID clash and more

China's Sinopharm begins late stage trial of COVID-19 vaccine in UAE Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm has begun Phase III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Abu Dhabi using up to 15,000 volunteers, the government in the capital of the United Arab Emirates said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Virus was direct cause of death for 89% of Italian COVID-19 victims

The new coronavirus has directly caused the death of 9 out of 10 of Italian COVID-19 victims, a study released on Thursday said, shedding new light on the epidemic which mainly struck the country's northern regions. Since discovering its first infections in February, Italy has reported some 35,000 COVID-19 fatalities.

Wear a mask? Georgia governor, mayors embroiled in latest coronavirus clash

Officials in the U.S. state of Georgia were headed for a clash over masks to fight the spread of the coronavirus on Thursday after the Republican governor barred mayors from requiring residents to wear them. Governor Brian Kemp issued an executive order late on Wednesday suspending local regulations requiring "face coverings, masks, face shields or any other personal protective equipment" in public.

China's Sinopharm begins late stage trial of COVID-19 vaccine in UAE

Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm has begun Phase III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Abu Dhabi using up to 15,000 volunteers, the government in the capital of the United Arab Emirates said on Thursday. The human trial is a partnership between Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group (CNBG), Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence, and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.

U.S. CDC reports 3,483,832 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 3,483,832 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 67,404 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 947 to 136,938. 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 15 versus its previous report a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/3h5KdLX)

U.S. prepares push to reduce 'unnecessary' COVID-19 testing - official

The United States is preparing to issue guidance on reducing "unnecessary" testing for COVID-19 as it works to reduce turnaround times for tests, a senior U.S. health official said on Thursday. Details of the guidance are still being hammered out but it would be aimed partly at discouraging COVID-19 patients who have completed home quarantine from getting retested before returning to work or school, said Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Exclusive: J&J in talks with Japan, Gates Foundation to lock in deals on COVID-19 vaccine

Johnson & Johnson is in talks with the government of Japan and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about locking up allocations of its potential COVID-19 vaccine as it prepares to kick off human trials, the company's Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told Reuters in an interview. More than a hundred vaccines are under development to try and stop the COVID-19 pandemic, and drugmakers including J&J are working to ramp up supply for their vaccines in the face of unprecedented demand.

Florida reports biggest one-day increase in COVID-19 deaths since pandemic started

Florida reported on Thursday the largest one-day increase in deaths from the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began and its second-largest increase in cases ever. Florida announced 13,965 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the state and the center of the latest outbreak to over 315,775, according to the state health department.

Novartis to provide 'no profit' COVID-19 drugs to low income countries

Novartis's Sandoz division will not profit from 15 generic drugs it is making available to developing countries to treat symptoms of COVID-19 for the pandemic's duration, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. Novartis's pledge to provide the antibiotics, steroids and diarrhea pills to 79 countries on the World Bank's list of low- and lower-middle-income nations prompted the Doctors Without Borders non-governmental organization (NGO) to call for more transparency on drug pricing and for the industry to follow "no profiteering" initiatives for new COVID-19 medicines.

J&J eyes September for late-stage study of potential COVID-19 vaccine

Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it was in talks to begin late-stage studies of its experimental coronavirus vaccine in September. "We are in discussions with the National Institute of Health with the objective to start the Phase III clinical trial ahead of its original schedule, potentially in late September," J&J Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said.

Hydroxychloroquine ineffective against mild COVID-19, U.S. study shows

The anti-malaria drug touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a COVID-19 treatment was ineffective for patients with a mild version of the disease in a study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota. About 24% of the patients given hydroxychloroquine in the study had persisting symptoms over a 14-day period, while roughly 30% of the group given a placebo were determined to have persistent symptoms over the same period.