Health News Roundup: FDA's lax rules on coronavirus blood tests open U.S. market; India exports 50 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to U.S. and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Special Report: FDA's lax rules on coronavirus blood tests open U.S. market to dubious vendors

As the coronavirus pandemic engulfed the United States, Joe Shia, a consultant to Chinese medical companies, said he was bombarded with inquiries from American firms who saw a golden opportunity in selling tests to determine coronavirus immunity. Unlike his typical clients, some firms seeking his help had never before sold medical equipment. Others wanted to register test kits with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without approval from the manufacturer or to offer home-based tests, which are not allowed by the FDA. One was in the window business, he said.

India exports 50 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to U.S. for COVID-19 fight: source

India has shipped 50 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the United States, an Indian source with direct knowledge of the exports said, although U.S. regulators warned the anti-malarial drug may have harmful side effects in the treatment of COVID-19. The trade, India's biggest export of the drug to any country, follows a request by U.S. President Donald Trump for New Delhi to release supplies of hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the respiratory disease.

Pfizer aims for 10-20 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by end-2020

Pfizer aims to make 10-20 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine it is developing with Germany's BioNtech by the end of 2020 for emergency use should it pass tests, the U.S. drugmaker's head of vaccines said on Thursday. The companies, whose project relies on messenger RNA technology never before used in an approved vaccine, have dosed the first humans in Germany and hope to begin a U.S. trial soon, pending regulators' blessing.

UK coronavirus death toll rises by 674 to 26,771

A total of 26,771 people have died of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, up by 674 in a 24-hour period, data from the health ministry showed on Thursday. The country has 171,253 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, up by 6,032 since the previous day.

When medical resources are limited, who should get care first?

Long before COVID-19 became a global pandemic that overwhelmed hospitals around the world, ethicists have contemplated the moral dilemma of who should be first in line when medical resources are strained. They created frameworks for apportioning treatment in a variety of situations, from large-scale disasters to organ transplants, so that doctors and hospitals did not have to make fraught decisions on the fly.

U.S. to speed development of coronavirus vaccine: Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States plans to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine, an effort that has been dubbed "Operation Warp Speed." Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he is in overall charge of the project aimed at finding a vaccine for the virus as quickly as possible.

Los Angeles coronavirus testing website strains as free appointments fill up

Less than 24 hours after Los Angeles became the first major U.S. city to offer free coronavirus tests for all, a website used for sign-ups strained under the demand on Thursday as appointments were completely booked for anyone not showing symptoms. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the free testing on Wednesday, saying tests were now available to anyone in the county of roughly 10 million people, although priority would be given to healthcare workers and people showing symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

U.S. FDA moving with 'lightning speed' on Gilead's COVID-19 drug: Bloomberg

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working at "lightning speed" to review data on Gilead Sciences Inc's experimental antiviral drug remdesivir in treating COVID-19 disease, the head of the agency told Bloomberg in an interview. "We're working with the company to emphasize the necessity of speed while at the same time to understand the data," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said.

CDC reports 1,031,659 coronavirus cases, 60,057 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,031,659 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 26,512 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 2,552 to 60,057. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on April 29, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2IVY1JT)

Nearly a dozen approved drugs could be effective against COVID-19: study

At least 10 different drug compounds ranging from cancer therapies to antipsychotics and antihistamines may be effective at preventing the new coronavirus from multiplying in the body, according to a multidisciplinary study conducted by a team of scientists in the United States and France. The researchers mapped the human proteins the virus interacts with inside the body when it infects cells and makes copies of itself, then looked for compounds that could block the virus from using those proteins.