Health News Roundup: India's coronavirus cases rise to 5.2 million, with 96,424 new infections; U.S. plans for hundreds of millions of cheap, fast COVID-19 tests and more

Globally some 270 million people were headed toward the brink of starvation and WFP hopes to reach 138 million people this year, Beasley told the U.N. Security Council Latin American nations seek more time to join WHO vaccine plan Brazil and several other Latin American countries have informed the World Health Organization (WHO) they need more time to sign up for its global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan known as COVAX, officials said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health 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.

U.N. food chief urges Bezos, other billionaires to step up to help world's starving

U.N. food chief David Beasley called on the world's billionaires on Thursday to step up to help save some 30 million people he said are at risk of dying if they don't receive help from the World Food Programme. Globally some 270 million people were headed toward the brink of starvation and WFP hopes to reach 138 million people this year, Beasley told the U.N.

Security Council Latin American nations seek more time to join WHO vaccine plan

Brazil and several other Latin American countries have informed the World Health Organization (WHO) they need more time to sign up for its global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan known as COVAX, officials said on Thursday. Countries have until midnight on Friday to formalize legally binding commitments to COVAX, a mechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of eventual vaccines.

In 12 U.S. states, at least 35% are obese, 2019 CDC data shows

Adult obesity is rising in the United States, with a greater impact on racial and ethnic minorities, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report showed, at a time when the health condition is seen causing heightened risk for severe COVID-19. In 2019, at least 35% of the adult population were obese in 12 states, up from nine in 2018, based on data taken from a telephone survey by the CDC and the state health departments.

Michigan fights outbreak of deadly disease that isn't coronavirus

After months of trying to contain the coronavirus pandemic, officials in Michigan intensified their fight on Thursday against a different and potentially deadlier disease: Eastern equine encephalitis, a brain infection transmitted by mosquitoes. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday it had ramped up nighttime aerial anti-mosquito spraying in high-risk areas of western Michigan after announcing it suspects that 28 horses and one human have contracted the disease in 11 counties in the state.

Explainer: When will COVID-19 vaccines be generally available in the U.S.?

U.S. President Donald Trump and the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday disagreed about when a COVID-19 vaccine would become widely available. Trump has said one could initially be available by the Nov. 3 election, while the CDC director said vaccines were likely to reach the general public around mid-2021, an assessment more in line with most experts. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A VACCINE TO GENERALLY AVAILABLE?

U.S. CDC testing guidance was published against scientists' objections: NYT

Guidance about novel coronavirus testing posted last month on the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was not written by the agency's scientists and was posted over their objections, the New York Times reported citing people familiar with the matter and internal documents. Under the guidance, it was not necessary to test people with no symptoms of COVID-19 - the potentially fatal disease caused by the virus - even if they had been exposed to the virus.

Silicon Valley startup Visby's portable COVID-19 test gets FDA approval

Silicon Valley medical equipment startup Visby Medical has received Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a portable PCR COVID-19 test kit, the first company to do so, according to the FDA on Thursday. PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, rapidly replicates DNA or RNA and is considered an accurate diagnostic tool used in labs for infectious diseases. Traditionally, PCR testing uses a machine the size of a large microwave and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Pfizer vaccine trial bets on early win against coronavirus, documents show

Pfizer Inc is betting that its coronavirus vaccine candidate will show clear evidence of effectiveness early in its clinical trial, according to the company and internal documents reviewed by Reuters that describe how the trial is being run. In recent weeks, Pfizer has said it should know by the end of October whether the vaccine, developed together with Germany's BioNTech SE, is safe and effective. If the vaccine is shown to work by then, Pfizer has said it would quickly seek regulatory approval.

It has not said what data it would use. India's coronavirus cases rise to 5.2 million, with 96,424 new infections

India recorded 96,424 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 5.2 million, data from the federal health ministry showed on Friday. India has been posting the highest single-day caseload in the world since early August, and seems on course to cross the United States as the country with the most number of cases.