Health News Roundup: U.S. coronavirus deaths exceed 75,000; Doctors want details on federal distribution of Gilead drug and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. coronavirus deaths exceed 75,000: Reuters tally

U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 75,000 deaths on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, after the White House shelved a step-by-step guide prepared by health officials to help states safely reopen. Deaths in the United States, the epicenter of the global pandemic, have averaged 2,000 a day since mid-April despite efforts to slow the outbreak.

Doctors want details on federal distribution of Gilead coronavirus drug

The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) is asking for more information on the federal government's plan for deciding how and where to supply the only drug so far shown to help patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday gave emergency use authorization to Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir for patients with severe COVID-19 - the disease caused by the coronavirus - clearing the way for broader use in more hospitals around the United States.

U.S. needs better technology to test for COVID-19: top health official

Senior U.S. health official Francis Collins told a Senate hearing on Thursday that the country needs better diagnostic testing technology to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said existing testing technology still relies on sending samples to labs for results, and new technologies must be developed to deliver tests that rapidly deliver results on site and be widely distributed.

Coronavirus could kill up to 190,000 in Africa in first year if not contained: WHO

The novel coronavirus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million in the first year if it is not contained, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. The projections are contained in a new WHO Africa study based on assumptions that no containment measures are put in place, which has fortunately not been the case, WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti told reporters in a teleconference.

FDA withdraws approval of some mask makers in China to sell in U.S

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced that it has canceled the approval for some manufacturers in China to sell N95 respirators in the United States, as they failed to offer adequate protection against the new coronavirus. A number of these respirators failed to demonstrate a minimum particulate filtration efficiency of 95% upon testing, the agency said. (https://bit.ly/35JPxQW)

False negative: officials say Russian virus tests often give wrong result

Tests used throughout Russia to determine if someone has the novel coronavirus or not often give the wrong result, Moscow officials said on Thursday, in a statement further calling into question the veracity of official statistics. The blunt admission by Moscow's department of health came on the same day as the Russian capital's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said the real number of coronavirus infections was more than triple the official figure.

Exclusive: Virus exposes gaping holes in Africa's health systems

African nations are facing a surge of COVID-19 cases with less than one intensive care bed and one ventilator per 100,000 people, a Reuters survey has found. Even in a best-case scenario, the continent could need at least 10 times the number it has now as the outbreak peaks, an analysis of researchers' projections showed.

White House shelved CDC guidance on easing of virus restrictions

The White House shelved a step-by-step guide prepared by U.S. health officials to help states safely reopen mass transit, restaurants, daycare centers and other public places closed by the coronavirus pandemic, an administration official said on Thursday. The 17-page document prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was put off to avoid giving "overly prescriptive" guidance, said the official, a member of President Donald Trump's White House task force, confirming a news report by the Associated Press that the guidance was shelved.

What do studies on new coronavirus mutations tell us?

A series of studies of the genomes of thousands of samples of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 show that it is mutating and evolving as it adapts to its human hosts. Here's what experts are saying about those findings and how they might affect the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to develop vaccines and treatments.

Russia's Putin accepted U.S. offer of ventilators: Trump

President Donald Trump on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his offer to provide ventilators to aid in the fight against the novel coronavirus causes a potentially deadly respiratory illness, adding that Russia is having a hard time with the disease. Trump and Putin spoke by phone on Thursday, where they discussed the coronavirus as well as arms control, according to the White House.