Health News Roundup: US COVID deaths near 190,000 Easing of NY dining; CDC reports decline in e-cigarette use and more

Brazil trials of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine show promising results: governor The governor of Brazil's São Paulo state said on Wednesday that Phase 3 clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd have shown promising results and it may be available to Brazilians as early as December.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

U.S. COVID-19 deaths near 190,000 Easing of New York dining ban a milestone in U.S. coronavirus battle

New York City got the governor's green light to partly resume indoor dining in three weeks, offering a lifeline to thousands of restaurants battered by the coronavirus and marking a milestone in the city's slow crawl back to normalcy. Restaurant owners in New York, an early epicenter of the U.S. epidemic, have been clamoring for an end to the indoor dining ban that was imposed in March as part of a series of lockdown measures to control the fast-spreading virus.

CDC reports decline in e-cigarette use among U.S. high schoolers

The percentage of e-cigarette users among high school students in the United States has declined to about 20% in 2020 from 27.5% last year, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. According to a survey of U.S. middle school and high school students during Jan. 16–March 16, 3.6 million youth still used the devices and more than eight in 10 reportedly used flavored e-cigarettes, the agency said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

AstraZeneca pauses coronavirus vaccine trial, rollout doubts dent shares

AstraZeneca has paused global trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine after an unexplained illness in a participant, denting the British drugmaker's shares on Wednesday as the move was seen as dimming prospects for an early rollout. On Tuesday, AstraZeneca said it voluntarily paused trials, including late-stage ones, to allow an independent committee to review safety data, and it was working to expedite the review to minimise any potential impact on the trial timeline.

U.S. set to end enhanced screening of some international travelers for COVID-19: sources

The U.S. government is set to end enhanced screening of some international passengers for COVID-19 and drop requirements that travelers coming from the targeted countries arrive at 15 designated U.S. airports, according to U.S. and airline officials and a government document seen by Reuters. The changes are set to take effect as early as Monday, according to the draft rollout plan seen by Reuters, but the move could still be delayed, U.S. officials said.

Some scientists spot 'unlikely' patterns in Russia vaccine data: letter

Twenty-six scientists, most of them working at universities in Italy, have signed an open letter questioning the reliability of the data presented in the early-stage trial results of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, named "Sputnik-V". Addressing the editor of The Lancet, the international peer-reviewed medical journal in which Moscow's Gamaleya Institute published its early-stage trial results, the scientists said they saw patterns in the data that looked "highly unlikely".

Brazil trials of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine show promising results: governor

The governor of Brazil's São Paulo state said on Wednesday that Phase 3 clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd have shown promising results and it may be available to Brazilians as early as December. Governor João Doria added that Phase 2 trials of the potential vaccine had shown an immune response of 98% in the elderly.

Germany says has suspected case of African swine fever

Germany's Ministry of Food and Agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for tests at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut laboratory, the ministry said in a statement.

England tightens socializing rules as COVID infections rise

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions on social gatherings in England on Wednesday, saying there was a clear need to act after a spike in COVID-19 infections. Speaking at a televised news conference, flanked by his top medical advisers, Johnson said groups of more than six people would be banned from meeting, in what he called a "rule of six" that was easier to understand than previous guidance.

How drugmakers can keep their pledge and still deliver an October vaccine surprise

As questions mount over whether the United States will authorize a coronavirus vaccine ahead of November elections, experts say there is a slim chance that enough evidence will be available to prove one is safe and effective in that time frame. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said a vaccine is possible before the Nov. 3 election, and accused a "deep state" within the nation's top health regulator of trying to slow pivotal clinical trials to hamper his chances at a second term.