Health News Roundup: Countries in Americas not ready for vaccines that need very cold storage; COVID-19 cases still surging in the Americas, the WHO warns and more

Russia's results are only the second from a late-stage human trial, following on swiftly from data released on Monday by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, which said their shot was also more than 90% effective.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Brazil's health regulator allows resumption of Chinese vaccine trial

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa announced on Wednesday the resumption of clinical Phase III trials for China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. Anvisa on Monday suspended trials of the Sinovac vaccine after the death of a volunteer registered as a suicide.

Russia says its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to interim trial results, the country's sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday, as Moscow rushes to keep pace with Western drugmakers in the race for a shot. Russia's results are only the second from a late-stage human trial, following on swiftly from data released on Monday by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, which said their shot was also more than 90% effective.

Countries in Americas not ready for vaccines that need very cold storage: PAHO

Less developed countries in the Americas are not ready to handle messenger RNA vaccines, such as the one developed by Pfizer Inc, that need very low storage temperatures of minus 70 degree Celsius, the WHO's regional office said on Wednesday. This could become a challenge for transporting such vaccines in countries that do not have the cold storage capacity. Pfizer recently announced its vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

Fears of COVID-19 resurgence spread to East Coast as grim U.S. records mount

As COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths surge across the United States, more signs emerged that a second wave could engulf areas of the Northeast, which managed to bring the pandemic under control after being battered last spring. In New Jersey, one of the early U.S. hotspots, a spike in cases in Newark, the state's largest city, prompted Mayor Ras Baraka to implement aggressive measures, including a mandatory curfew for certain areas, to contain the spread of the virus.

Cold storage challenges could hamper distribution of Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines: Fauci

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Wednesday said it would be challenging to distribute vaccines that use messenger RNA based technology in developing countries, owing to their cold storage requirements. The comments come days after Pfizer Inc said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results and that it expects to file for U.S. emergency authorization this month.

Riskier blood thinner used more often in Black patients; psychiatric issues linked to COVID-19

The following is a 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.

Use of riskier blood thinner seen in Blacks with COVID-19 Japan's Fujitsu, Mizuho, PeptiDream to form joint venture to develop COVID-19 treatments

Fujitsu Ltd, Mizuho Financial Group Inc, and drugmaker PeptiDream Inc said on Thursday they are forming a joint venture to develop treatments for COVID-19. The new company, to be called PeptiAID Inc, will research and develop peptide therapeutics for the current SARS-CoV-2 virus and potential future coronavirus outbreaks, the companies said in a release.

COVID-19 cases still surging in the Americas, the WHO warns

COVID-19 cases are still surging in the Americas, averaging 150,000 a day in last week, the World Health Organization's regional office said on Wednesday. The United States continues to report record-breaking numbers, while parts of Canada and some states in Mexico, including the capital, are experiencing spikes, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said.

Moderna closes in on release of COVID-19 vaccine data

Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it has enough data for a first interim analysis of the late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, which should help determine the vaccine's efficacy. Moderna said the information is being prepared for submission to the trial's independent data safety monitoring board, which will look at the results and make a recommendation. It did not say when it plans to release the efficacy data.

Italy surpasses the 1 million COVID mark, joins top 10 worst-hit countries: Reuters tally

Italy, one of the European countries hit hardest by COVID-19, surpassed the one-million infections mark on Wednesday, leap-frogging Mexico to become one of the top 10 worst-affected countries globally, according to a Reuters tally. The Italian health ministry said the country had registered 32,961 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking its total tally since the contagion first struck in February to 1.028 million.