Health News Roundup: Italian whole-town study finds 40% of coronavirus cases had no symptoms; Exclusive: After pandemic, U.S. senators want review of drug supply chain and more

Exclusive: After pandemic, U.S. senators want review of drug supply chain Republican and Democratic U.S. senators called for a government analysis of foreign influence in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain on Tuesday, saying the coronavirus pandemic has exposed an over-reliance on China and other countries for the production of essential drugs.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Italian whole-town study finds 40% of coronavirus cases had no symptoms

A study of coronavirus infections that covered almost everyone in the quarantined north Italian town of Vò found that 40% of cases showed no symptoms - suggesting that asymptomatic cases are important in the spread of the pandemic. The study, led by a scientist at Italy's Padua University and Imperial College London, also produced evidence that mass testing combined with case isolation and community lockdowns can stop local outbreaks swiftly.

'A recipe for disaster,' U.S. health official says of Americans ignoring coronavirus advice

A spike in U.S. coronavirus infections is fueled in large part by people ignoring public health guidelines to keep their distance and wear masks, the government's top infectious disease official said. A daily surge in confirmed cases has been most pronounced in southern and western states that did not follow health officials' recommendations to wait for a steady decline in infections for two weeks before reopening their economies.

Exclusive: After pandemic, U.S. senators want review of drug supply chain

Republican and Democratic U.S. senators called for a government analysis of foreign influence in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain on Tuesday, saying the coronavirus pandemic has exposed an over-reliance on China and other countries for the production of essential drugs. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce the U.S. Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Review Act on Tuesday.

Tokyo's new coronavirus steps aim to balance economy and health

Tokyo on Tuesday said it will move away from numerical targets to contain COVID-19 and rely more on the advice of a committee of experts, to try to control the novel coronavirus and avoid another economic slowdown. The metropolis, with a population of 14 million, has sought to keep new cases below 20 a day since Japan lifted a state of emergency on May 25, but has had five straight days of more than 50 new cases as of Tuesday, when 54 infections were reported.

Powell, Mnuchin enter the lion's den again to discuss pandemic response

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday will get another chance to grill the heads of the Federal Reserve and Treasury over the effectiveness of the nearly $3 trillion in emergency aid doled out to stem the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. central bank, with Treasury's backing, has launched programs to improve the flow of credit as economic activity cratered and millions of jobs were lost, including its new Main Street Lending Program for mostly medium-sized businesses.

Six months after 'viral pneumonia', Wuhan returning to normal, with masks

Six months after the World Health Organization learned of "viral pneumonia" cases that would become the COVID-19 pandemic, life in Wuhan, the city where it emerged, is returning to normal, although masks remain ubiquitous and emotional scars linger. A city of 11 million, Wuhan was locked down for two months starting in late January in a draconian measure that helped stamp out the virus at its initial epicentre. Hubei province and its capital city Wuhan accounted for most of China's 83,531 new coronavirus cases and 4,634 deaths.

China study warns of possible new 'pandemic virus' from pigs

A new flu virus found in Chinese pigs has become more infectious to humans and needs to be watched closely in case it becomes a potential "pandemic virus", a study said, although experts said there is no imminent threat. A team of Chinese researchers looked at influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018 and found a "G4" strain of H1N1 that has "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus", according to the paper, published by the U.S. journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Where COVID-19 is spreading fastest as U.S. cases rise 46% in past week

The United States saw a 46% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 28 compared to the previous seven days, with 21 states reporting positivity test rates above the level that the World Health Organization has flagged as concerning. Nationally, 7% of diagnostic tests came back positive last week, up from 5% the prior week, according to a Reuters analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

U.S. FDA to release guidance on COVID-19 vaccine approval - WSJ

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to release guidance on Tuesday outlining its conditions for approving a vaccine for the coronavirus, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a summary of the guidance. The agency would require drugmakers to show "clearly demonstrated" proof of a vaccine's safety and effectiveness through a clinical study, and at least 50% more effective than a placebo, the report said.

Global COVID-19 prevention trial of hydroxychloroquine to resume

A global trial designed to test whether the anti-malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can prevent infection with COVID-19 is to restart after being approved by British regulators. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) took its decision on what is known as the COPCOV trial after hydroxychloroquine was found in another British trial to have no benefit as a treatment for patients already infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.