Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Exclusive: Canada gets Biomerieux formula for free to produce virus testing chemicals

A key supplier of the chemicals needed to test for coronavirus, France's Biomérieux, has given its proprietary formula to the Canadian government for free so its national lab can try to manufacture badly-needed test kits on its own, according to federal officials and a note to customers obtained by Reuters. The unusual deal shows Ottawa's determination to scale up testing, a key step towards relaxing strict public health measures that have disrupted daily life and tanked economies around the world. New Yorkers sing 'Lean on Me' to honor essential workers during coronavirus pandemic

It starts as it has around the world with people leaning out of windows and standing on balconies clapping, cheering and banging pots and pans to honor essential workers still operating during the coronavirus pandemic. And then a rousing collective rendition of the Bill Withers 1972 song "Lean on Me" begins. J&J strikes deal with Emergent BioSolutions on coronavirus vaccine manufacturing

Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it had struck a deal with Emergent BioSolutions Inc to use its manufacturing facilities to help in an effort to make more than 1 billion doses of a vaccine it is testing to stop the novel coronavirus. The U.S. healthcare conglomerate said the deal was the first in a series of prospective global partnerships to accelerate manufacturing of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate, even before it has a signal that it works. Sunlight, heat and humidity weaken coronavirus, U.S. official says

The coronavirus appears to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight, heat and humidity, a U.S. official said on Thursday in a potential sign that the pandemic could become less contagious in summer months. U.S. government researchers have determined that the virus survives best indoors and in dry conditions, and loses potency when temperatures and humidity rise - and especially when it is exposed to sunlight, said William Bryan, acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate. U.S. CDC reports 828,441 coronavirus cases, 46,379 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 828,441 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 25,858 from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,804 to 46,379. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of April 22, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2IVY1JT) Coronavirus tally rises to 91 on Italian cruise ship in Japan

As many as 91 crew of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan's southwestern port of Nagasaki are infected with coronavirus, officials said on Friday, as questions persist over how and when they will return to their home countries. Authorities have tested about half the vessel's crew of 623 and are racing to screen the rest after finding one of them infected this week, fanning worries that the illness could spread wider and eventually put a strain on medical services. Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2,337 to 150,383: RKI

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 2,337 to 150,383, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday - a slight deceleration after three straight days of new infections accelerating. On Thursday confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 2,352. Gilead disputes report that its drug flopped in leaked coronavirus trial

A closely-watched Gilead Sciences Inc experimental antiviral drug failed to help patients with severe COVID-19 in a clinical trial conducted in China, but the drugmaker said the findings were inconclusive because the study was terminated early. Gilead shares closed down 4.3% after the data was inadvertently released and first reported by the Financial Times. It comes days after another report detailed rapid recovery in fever and respiratory symptoms in some patients with COVID-19 - the sometimes deadly respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus - who were treated with remdesivir at the University of Chicago Medicine hospital. New York survey suggests nearly 14% in state may have coronavirus antibodies

A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday. While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared. Your COVID-19 healthcare questions, answered

Several months into the coronavirus pandemic, information about COVID-19 continues to change rapidly and many questions about the virus remain unanswered. As part of our weekly #AskReuters Twitter chat series, Reuters invited a group of healthcare experts to discuss what they have learned so far.