Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. U.S. 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. China reports one new coronavirus case, 16 asymptomatic cases

China reported one new coronavirus case for May 7, down from the two cases the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Friday. No new imported cases were recorded on May 7, the National Health Commission said in a statement. 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. Mexico experiences most lethal coronavirus day yet with 257 deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 1,982 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 257 additional fatalities, the most lethal day since the pandemic reached the Latin America's second largest country. The new figures bring the total number of confirmed cases to 29,616 and 2,961 deaths. However, the government has said the real number of infections is significantly higher than the confirmed cases. 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. Australia to provide Pacific nations rapid COVID-19 test kits

Australia will provide Pacific island nations new rapid diagnostic COVID-19 kits in a joint initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States and New Zealand, the Australian foreign minister said on Friday. The first kits arrived in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Nauru and supplies will reach a further nine Pacific island countries in the next two weeks, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement. CDC reports 1,219,066 coronavirus cases, 73,297 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,219,066 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 25,253 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,495 to 73,297. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 6, compared with its count a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2WfXuu1) 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. Facebook, YouTube remove 'Plandemic' video with 'unsubstantiated' coronavirus claims

Facebook Inc and YouTube, the video service of Alphabet Inc's Google, said on Thursday that they were removing a video that made medically unsubstantiated claims relating to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The 26-minute video dubbed "Plandemic" went viral this week across social media platforms. It features Judy Mikovits, an activist among people who contend that many common vaccines are dangerous. Malaria drug touted by Trump for coronavirus fails another test

The malaria treatment repeatedly championed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a "game changer" in the fight against the novel coronavirus has again failed to show a benefit in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a study released on Thursday. While the study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine had certain limitations, doctors reported that the use of hydroxycholoquine neither lessened the need for patients requiring breathing assistance nor the risk of death.