Health News Roundup: FDA approves Bristol Myers' liver cancer therapy; U.S. may see blood shortages due to coronavirus and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Here are today's developments on the coronavirus epidemic:

Bank of England leads coronavirus charge Italy to ramp up spending on coronavirus, further restrictions possible

Italy will ramp up spending to help the economy cope with the impact of the coronavirus and might impose further restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the disease, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday. Italy is the worst-affected country in the world after China, with some 631 deaths and 10,149 confirmed cases since the contagion came to light in the wealthy northern region of Lombardy on Feb. 21.

U.S. government aims at high insulin prices with plan for $35 copay in Medicare

The Trump administration on Wednesday turned back to its pledge to fight high U.S. drug prices with a plan to limit the out-of-pocket cost for insulin, a life-saving medicine, to $35 per month for many people with diabetes who are enrolled in Medicare. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is lining up drug makers and the private insurers who manage Medicare drug benefits to volunteer to test out the new pricing in 2021. Medicare drug plans cover about 46 million people aged 65 and older and with disabilities.

Some in Wuhan told to go back to work as new cases of coronavirus subside in China

Some vital industries in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, were told they can resume work on Wednesday, a day after President Xi Jinping visited there for the first time since the outbreak began. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown since late January but Xi's visit signaled the tide was turning in the government's favor as it fights to contain a virus that as of Tuesday had infected 80,778 people in China and killed 3,158.

Italy, Britain wield economic axes to try to slay coronavirus

Italy earmarked $28.3 billion to soften the economic impact of the world's second-biggest coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday as the Bank of England slashed interest rates just hours before announcing a budget designed to stave off recession. U.S. President Donald Trump, who for weeks played down the seriousness of the illness and blamed "fake news" for its spread, said on Tuesday he would ask Congress for a tax cut for workers and other "very major" stimulus moves to ease the economic impact, but the details were unclear.

Washington considers actions to bolster U.S. economy as coronavirus cases mount

As U.S. coronavirus cases rose steadily, the White House and Congress negotiated measures on Tuesday to bolster the U.S. economy and Americans' paychecks against the outbreak's impact, although there was no immediate sign of a deal. The rise in the number of U.S. cases of COVID-19, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness, has concerned health officials and spurred calls within Congress for action to expand testing and avert an economic meltdown.

Albanian woman, 73, dies of coronavirus

An Albanian woman of 73 with a heart condition who had returned from neighboring Italy has become the country's first coronavirus fatality, the health ministry said on Wednesday. There were 11 documented other cases of the virus in the country, it said.

FDA approves Bristol Myers' liver cancer therapy

Bristol Myers Squibb's combination of its immunotherapies, Opdivo and Yervoy, to treat a type of liver cancer received U.S. regulatory approval, the drugmaker said on Wednesday. The therapy received the Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, who have previously been administered sorafenib, the current standard of care.

U.S. may see blood shortages as coronavirus cancels office blood drives

U.S. blood banks are concerned about potential shortages as Americans concerned about catching the new coronavirus avoid donation sites and companies with employees working from home cancel blood drives. There have already been shortages over the past week in Washington that required other blood banks to move blood in from outside the region, according to Brian Gannon, who runs the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and chairs a disaster task force for AABB, formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks. Supplies in New York were also low because of blood drive cancellations, he said.

As pressure for coronavirus vaccine mounts, scientists debate risks of accelerated testing

Drugmakers are working as quickly as possible to develop a vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide. Behind the scenes, scientists and medical experts are concerned that rushing a vaccine could end up worsening the infection in some patients rather than preventing it.