US News Roundup: NIH launches trial of Rigel drug for severe COVID-19; Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccines: 'he was confused' and more

Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccines: 'he was confused' U.S. President Donald Trump predicted on Wednesday at least 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine could be distributed in by the end of 2020, contradicting a top government health official Trump dismissed as confused.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. plans for hundreds of millions of cheap, fast COVID-19 tests

U.S. manufacturers are sharply increasing production of cheap, fast - but less accurate - COVID-19 tests, aiming for 100 million per month by year end that will enable schools and workplaces to significantly expand testing. Manufacturing and government sources tell Reuters that more than half a dozen so-called antigen tests will likely be authorized by the end of October. U.S. regulators in recent months have authorized antigen tests from Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson & Co, Quidel Corp and LumiraDX.

Sally weakens to tropical depression, leaves massive floods on U.S. Gulf Coast

Hurricane Sally moved northeast on Thursday, where it was expected to bring more than a foot of rain to some areas, one day after it flooded streets and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Sally made landfall early on Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, with winds clocked at 105 mph (169 kph), making it a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.

Mexico asks U.S. for answers about alleged migrant detention abuse

Mexico said on Wednesday said it had formally requested a report from U.S. authorities regarding alleged negligent practices in U.S. immigration detention centers, citing accusations of sexual abuse and unauthorized hysterectomies. The request come after a complaint by a whistleblower nurse alleging that detainees in a Georgia immigration detention facility had improperly received hysterectomies and other gynecological procedures.

CVS Health plans to double COVID-19 drive-thru test sites

CVS Health Corp said on Thursday it plans to add more than 2,000 new COVID-19 drive-thru test sites at select CVS Pharmacy locations across the country. CVS Health expects to have more than 4,000 test sites operating by mid-October, the company said.

Mountaintop telescopes spared as wildfire smoke from Western U.S. tracked in Europe

From a mountaintop observatory near Los Angeles to the normally verdant Cascade range in the Pacific Northwest, crews on Wednesday battled monster wildfires that raged well into their second week as scientists tracked the smoke drifting across Europe. Scores of fires have burned some 3 million acres in California since mid-August and another 1.6 million in Oregon and Washington state since Labor Day, laying waste to several small towns, destroying thousands of homes and claiming at least 34 lives.

Hawaii to allow pre-travel test option to skip quarantine on arrival

Hawaii Governor David Ige said on Wednesday the state's pre-travel testing progam would give travelers the option of potentially avoiding a 14-day quarantine period on arrival from next month. The pre-travel testing option, which begins on Oct. 15, is seen as one of the key measures for revitalizing state's tourism-focused economy, while providing protection for the spread of COVID-19, according to a statement https://bit.ly/2FFHITF from the governor's office.

Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccines: 'he was confused'

U.S. President Donald Trump predicted on Wednesday at least 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine could be distributed in by the end of 2020, contradicting a top government health official Trump dismissed as confused. Hours earlier, Robert Redfield, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a COVID-19 vaccine could be broadly rolled out by the middle of next year or a little later.

NIH launches trial of Rigel drug for severe COVID-19

The U.S. National Institutes of Health on Thursday launched a clinical trial of fostamatinib, currently used to treat a blood platelet-destroying autoimmune disorder, in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The tablets, sold under the brand name Tavalisse by Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc, have shown in lab and animal studies the ability to block production of sticky, web-like substances that the immune system produces to trap foreign invaders.

Moderna would seek limited emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine based on early data

If Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine proves to be at least 70 percent effective, the company plans to seek emergency authorization for its use in high-risk groups, the company's chief executive told Reuters. Moderna's vaccine candidate - mRNA-1273 - is nearing the finish line in its push to enroll 30,000 individuals in a late-stage trial of a novel coronavirus vaccine. But the company may be able to declare victory early if it is able to show that people who got the vaccine fared much better in its trial that people who didn't.

U.S. intelligence officials to do in-person election security briefings for lawmakers after all

Top U.S. intelligence officials will provide in-person briefings to congressional intelligence committees on foreign efforts to meddle in the 2020 election after all, having previously said they would communicate mainly in writing, senators said on Wednesday. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committees said in a statement that John Ratcliffe, the former Republican Congressman who is President Donald Trump's new Director of National Intelligence (DNI), had confirmed that their committee would continue receiving in-person briefings.