Health News Roundup: Brazil suspends Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine trial due to severe adverse event; U.S. denounces terms for WHO-led inquiry into coronavirus origins and more

Putin says all Russian COVID-19 vaccines are effective: RIA Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said all Russian vaccines against COVID-19 were effective, adding that the country would soon register a third shot against the virus, the RIA news agency reported.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Brazil suspends Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine trial due to severe adverse event

Brazil's health regulator has suspended a clinical trial for China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine citing a severe adverse event, surprising the trial organisers who countered there had been a death but it was unrelated to the vaccine. The health regulator, Anvisa, said on Monday the event occurred on Oct. 29 but did not specify if it took place in Brazil or in another country. It also did not give an indication of how long the suspension might last.

Fate of Obamacare law rests with U.S. Supreme Court once again

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday dives back into politically perilous waters as it hears arguments over a Republican challenge backed by President Donald Trump's administration aiming to invalidate the Obamacare healthcare law. President-elect Joe Biden has criticized Republican efforts to throw out the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the law is formally known, in the midst of a deadly coronavirus pandemic and hopes to buttress Obamacare after taking office on Jan. 20.

U.S. denounces terms for WHO-led inquiry into coronavirus origins

The United States said on Tuesday that the terms for a World Health Organization-led team of experts that is to investigate the origins of the new coronavirus were not transparently negotiated or conform with its mandate from member states. "We are quite literally in the fight of our lifetime as COVID-19 pandemic is causing death and societal disruption," Garrett Grigsby, director of the office of global affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told the WHO's annual ministerial assembly.

Europe COVID death toll set to pass 300,000 as winter looms and infections surge

The COVID-19 death toll in Europe is set to pass 300,000, according to a Reuters tally on Tuesday, and authorities fear that despite hopes for a new vaccine, fatalities and infections will continue to rise as the region heads into winter. With just 10% of the world's population, Europe accounts for almost a quarter of both the 50.7 million cases and 1.2 million deaths globally and even its well-equipped hospitals are feeling the strain.

COVID-19 vaccine will be a game changer, says top German economist

The availability of a vaccine against the coronavirus would be a game changer for Germany's economy, boosting growth significantly, the head of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said on Tuesday. "An effective vaccine with few side effects changes everything," Gabriel Felbermayr told Reuters.

Putin says all Russian COVID-19 vaccines are effective: RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said all Russian vaccines against COVID-19 were effective, adding that the country would soon register a third shot against the virus, the RIA news agency reported. Russia is rolling out its Sputnik V vaccine for domestic use despite the fact that late-stage trials have not yet finished, and on Tuesday said it was more than 90% effective, following earlier comments by vaccine developers Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, who said the same of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

How Pfizer vaccine could be cold comfort for some Asian nations

With tropical heat, remote island communities and a dearth of ultra-cold freezers, many Asian countries aren't betting on Pfizer's experimental vaccine solving their COVID-19 crisis any time soon. The world cheered on Monday when Pfizer Inc announced its shot, jointly developed with BioNTech SE, was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

BioNTech to price vaccine below market rates, differentiate between regions

BioNTech, first in the race to produce evidence of a working COVID-19 vaccine, is planning to price the two-shot regimen below "typical market rates" and would differentiate pricing between countries or regions. Speaking at a Financial Times online event, the German biotech firm's strategy head Ryan Richardson said the price tag of the vaccine, which is co-developed with Pfizer and which has yet to win regulatory approval, would reflect the financial risks that its private-sector investors have incurred.

U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations surge to record of just over 59,000 patients: Reuters tally

There were just over 59,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the United States on Monday, the country's highest number ever of in-patients being treated for the disease, with new infections at record levels for the sixth consecutive day. The harsh statistics tallied by Reuters cemented the United States' position as the nation worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, even as drugmaker Pfizer Inc provided some hope with successful late-stage tests of its vaccine.

Oxford ups COVID-19 testing capacity with Thermo Fisher deal

The University of Oxford has partnered with U.S.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific to ramp up its capacity to deliver COVID-19 testing data and help collect and quantify immune responses in its vaccine trials, the university said on Tuesday. The collaboration will increase Oxford's testing capacity to up to 50,000 tests per day with its new rapid testing lab and a device from Thermo Fisher that can detect antibodies developed in a person against the new coronavirus, it added.