Reuters Health News Summary

Brazil uses less than a third of available coronavirus tests, newspaper says Seven months after Brazil declared a state of emergency because of the new coronavirus pandemic, the country's Health Ministry has distributed less than a third of the 22.9 million available RT-PCR test kits, O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Brazil uses less than a third of available coronavirus tests, newspaper says

Seven months after Brazil declared a state of emergency because of the new coronavirus pandemic, the country's Health Ministry has distributed less than a third of the 22.9 million available RT-PCR test kits, O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Friday. The reason is a lack of supplies used to apply the tests, including swabs, the report said citing internal documents obtained by the newspaper. Germany ups daily COVID-19 infection number after glitch

Germany registered around 1,430 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, its leading public health institute said on Friday, significantly raising its initial estimate. The Robert Koch Institute's (RKI) first tally was 782. It said technical problems had led to an undercount. Astrazeneca to begin Phase 1/2 clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine in Japan

Astrazeneca said on Friday it is beginning Phase 1/2 clinical trials in Japan of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. Trials of the vaccine, known as AZD1222, will be conducted at multiple facilities in Japan, targeting 250 subjects, the company said in a release. Results of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine produced antibody response: The Lancet

Russia's "Sputnik-V" COVID-19 vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published on Friday by The Lancet medical journal that were hailed by Moscow as an answer to its critics. The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100% of participants developing antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects, The Lancet said. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: No widespread vaccinations until mid-2021 Widespread COVID-19 vaccinations not expected until mid-2021, WHO says

The World Health Organization does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the middle of next year, a spokeswoman said on Friday, stressing the importance of rigorous checks on their effectiveness and safety. None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials so far has demonstrated a "clear signal" of efficacy at the level of at least 50% sought by the WHO, spokeswoman Margaret Harris said. India coronavirus infections near 4 million, closes in on Brazil

India reported a daily jump of 83,341 coronavirus infections, taking its tally to 3.94 million, health ministry datashowed on Friday, as it closes in on Brazil as the world's second-most affected nation from the virus. Asia's worst-hit country is now just around 60,000 cases behind Brazil, which has around 4 million confirmed cases, according to a Reuters tally. The United States is the worst affected nation, with more than 6 million cases. Japan says it will bear cost of coronavirus vaccines for populace

Japan's government said on Friday it would bear the cost of providing coronavirus vaccines to the populace, as it aims for a comprehensive inoculation against the pandemic. The government also said it planned to establish funds to compensate for possible side effects from the vaccines. The plans were outlined in documents distributed at a briefing by Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who also heads the coronavirus response. Roche receives U.S. emergency approval for coronavirus vs. flu test

Drugmaker Roche on Friday said it had received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a test to quickly detect whether a patient has SARS-CoV-2 or one of two forms of influenza "With the approaching flu season, this new test is particularly important as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza infections can hardly be differentiated by symptoms alone. Now, with a single test, healthcare professionals can confidently provide the right diagnosis and most effective treatment plan for their patients," Roche diagnostics head Thomas Schinecker said in a statement. AbbVie to develop and sell China-based I-Mab's cancer drug

U.S. drugmaker AbbVie Inc will pay $180 million in upfront payment to develop and sell Chinese biotech company I-Mab's cancer drug, the companies said on Friday. The U.S.-listed shares of I-Mab jumped 18.8% to $42.5 before the opening bell.