Health News Roundup: China reports four new coronavirus cases; Taiwan approves Gilead's remdesivir and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 30-05-2020 18:36 IST | Created: 30-05-2020 18:29 IST
Health News Roundup: China reports four new coronavirus cases; Taiwan approves Gilead's remdesivir and more
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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Chinese vaccine could be ready by year-end, government body says

A Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine could be ready for market as early as the end of this year, China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a social media post. In trials, more than 2,000 people have received vaccines developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and the Beijing Institute of Biological Products. A vaccine could be ready for the market as early as the end of this year or early 2021, according to the May 29 post on Chinese social media platform WeChat.

Trump cutting U.S. ties with World Health Organization over virus

The United States will end its relationship with the World Health Organization over the body's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, accusing the U.N. agency of becoming a puppet of China. The move to quit the Geneva-based body, which the United States formally joined in 1948, comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the coronavirus outbreak. The virus first emerged in China's Wuhan city late last year.

China reports four new coronavirus cases for May 29

China recorded four new confirmed cases of coronavirus as of the end of May 29, up from none the day before, data from the country's health authority showed on Saturday. All of the cases were imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported on its website.

Saturated hospitals, airlifts as California border region virus cases surge

Coronavirus cases are surging in a scorching hot desert region straddling south California and a city near Mexico's Tijuana, leading to saturated hospitals, a cross-border overspill of patients and airlifts from rural U.S. clinics. Mexicali, capital of the Mexican state of Baja California, has the third-highest number of confirmed COVID cases in Mexico, with its main hospitals at four-fifths capacity, state health department data shows.

Brazil reaches 27,878 coronavirus deaths, surpasses Spain

Coronavirus deaths in Brazil reached 27,878, the Health Ministry said on Friday, surpassing Spain to become the fifth ranking nation in the number of dead. In the last 24 hours, Brazil, which now has the second-largest outbreak in the world, registered 1,124 deaths from the virus and 26,928 additional cases of the novel coronavirus.

Taiwan approves Gilead's remdesivir to treat COVID-19

Taiwan's government said on Saturday it had approved Gilead Sciences' potential COVID-19 treatment, remdesivir, to treat the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Governments are racing to bolster supplies of remdesivir, which U.S. regulators this month approved for emergency use. California-based Gilead has said it will donate 1.5 million doses of remdesivir, enough to treat at least 140,000 patients, to combat the global pandemic.

Russia plans coronavirus vaccine clinical trials in two weeks - report

Russian scientists plan to start clinical trials within two weeks on a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus, the country's health minister was quoted as saying on Saturday. Russia has the world's third-highest toll of coronavirus infections after the United States and Brazil, and Kremlin officials have said the nation's researchers are working on almost 50 different vaccine projects.

Exclusive: Sanofi stops enrolling COVID-19 patients in hydroxychloroquine trials

Sanofi has temporarily stopped recruiting new COVID-19 patients for two clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine and will no longer supply the anti-malaria drug to treat COVID-19 until concerns about safety are cleared up, it said on Friday. The moves come after the World Health Organization paused its large trial of hydroxychloroquine, prompting several European governments to ban the use of the drug, also used in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 738 to 181,196

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 738 to 181,196, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday. The reported death toll rose by 39 to 8,489, the tally showed.

Malaysia reports 30 new COVID-19 infections

Malaysia reported 30 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative total to 7,762. A senior Ministry of Health official told reporters the total number of deaths remained at 115.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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