WHO says joint China mission to start coronavirus probe this weekend

A World Health Organization-led mission to China will start its outbreak investigation this weekend and will focus on how the new coronavirus is spreading and the severity of the disease, the WHO’s director-general said on Friday.

The joint team, composed of 12 international members and their 12 Chinese counterparts, will seek more details on how, where and when the more than 1,700 health workers infected so far contracted the new virus, WHO officials said.
“We expect the full team to touch down over the weekend,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, told reporters in Geneva.
“The goal of the joint mission is to rapidly inform the next steps in the COVID-19 response and preparedness activities in China and globally,” he said, referring to the medical name for the acute respiratory disease caused by the virus.
“Particular attention will be paid to understanding transmission of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of ongoing response measures.”
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO health emergencies programme, said that he believed the WHO-led team would include U.S. health officials, but gave no details.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), whose technical experts are highly-regarded, has voiced interest in taking part.
Ryan, asked about the Tokyo Olympic Games scheduled for July, said that the WHO was in regular touch with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other organisers regarding major events.

Japan has been one of the most-affected countries outside China.
“We have not offered advice to the IOC for the Olympics one way or the other, and neither would we. It is not the role of WHO to call off or not call off any event,” Ryan said.
WHO’s role was to offer technical advice to help organisers conduct a thorough risk assessment around an event, he said. “And it is the decision of hosting countries and the organising agencies to make that decision,” he added.
Chinese authorities reported 5,090 new cases in mainland China on Friday, including more than 120 deaths, taking the total number of infected to 63,851, and the number of deaths from COVID-19 to 1,380.
China has also released data on infections among health workers, which stands at 1,716 reported cases and six deaths.

Ryan said infections among healthcare workers appear to have peaked in the 3rd or 4th week of January. There had been a “rapid fall-off” in such cases in the last two weeks, which might reflect better training or protection, he said.
Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO director of global infectious hazard preparedness, said such infections were not unusual in outbreaks but that it was seeking more details from Chinese authorities.
“It is very important to understand if it happened in the emergency ward or if it has happened when they were treating patients or somewhere else within the hospital facility so that we can also target implementation of corrective measures,” she said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-who/who-says-joint-china-mission-to-start-coronavirus-probe-this-weekend-idUSKBN20821Q

Buffett’s Berkshire buys Kroger and Biogen, reduces Wells Fargo and Goldman

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said it has taken a $549.1 million stake in Kroger Co, investing in the largest U.S. supermarket chain as smaller rivals struggle.
In a regulatory filing detailing its U.S.-listed investments as of Dec. 31, Berkshire also said it took a new 648,000 share stake in drugmaker Biogen Inc worth $192.4 million, and significantly reduced its stakes in two major banks, Wells Fargo & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Berkshire has sold more than 86 million shares, or 21%, of its Wells Fargo stake since June 30, as the bank tries to restore its reputation following scandals over its mistreatment of customers.
Since the scandals began erupting in September 2016, the Standard & Poor’s 500 has risen 55%, while Wells Fargo is down 3%. Berkshire began investing in Wells Fargo in 1989.
Kroger shares rose 3.9% and Biogen rose 1.5% in after-hours trading, a sign of investors’ regard for Buffett and the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate he has run since 1965.
Investors monitor Berkshire’s quarterly filings to see where Buffett and his portfolio managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, who is also chief executive of Berkshire’s Geico car insurer, see value.
Friday’s filing does not say who bought or sold particular stocks, though Buffett normally directs big investments such as Wells Fargo and Apple Inc, Berkshire’s largest.
Buffett’s assistant, along with Kroger and Biogen, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kroger, in which Berkshire disclosed an 18.94 million share stake, has invested heavily to expand online, upgrade stores and improve deliveries to compete with Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc, the latter also a Berkshire holding.
Many smaller chains have fared worse, and Earth Fare, Fairway and Lucky’s have sought bankruptcy protection this year. Kroger had invested in Lucky’s.
Berkshire’s Wells Fargo stake fell 15% in the quarter to 323.2 million shares worth $17.4 billion, trailing its stakes in Bank of America Corp and American Express Co.
The Goldman stake shrank 35% to 12 million shares worth $2.8 billion. That stake had its origins in Buffett’s lucrative foray into Goldman preferred stock during the 2008 financial crisis.

Berkshire also has more than 90 operating units including Geico, the BNSF railroad, Dairy Queen ice cream and namesake energy, real estate brokerage and auto dealer businesses.
Friday’s filing suggests Berkshire’s stock buying did not significantly dent its $128.2 billion cash hoard from Sept. 30.
Berkshire should discuss its holdings more on Feb. 22, when it releases its annual report and Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-investment-funds-berkshire/buffetts-berkshire-buys-kroger-and-biogen-reduces-wells-fargo-and-goldman-stakes-idUSKBN2082M9

GM says no plans to slow production at U.S. truck plants from coronavirus

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is striving to maintain the flow of parts to some of its most profitable U.S. factories in an effort to keep them from becoming the next plants to be idled by the coronavirus outbreak in China, Bloomberg reports.

GM does not expect to pause production at plants in Michigan, Indiana and Texas, a company spokesperson tells Reuters, following comments from a United Auto Workers union member at the Flint, Mich., heavy-duty pickup factory that the threat of parts shortages is growing.

The UAW member said GMs factories in Fort Wayne, Ind., Arlington, Tex., and Flint could run out of certain parts; the plants assemble Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks and full-size SUVs including the Cadillac Escalade, some of the company’s most lucrative models.

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) today became the latest automaker to announce that a lack of components sourced from China will disrupt production in other countries, joining Hyundai, Nissan and Renault.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3542417-gm-says-no-plans-to-slow-production-u-s-truck-plants-from-coronavirus

US will test people with flu symptoms for novel coronavirus

The US will begin testing people identified by local health authorities as having flu-like symptoms for the novel coronavirus, a senior official said Friday, a significant expansion of the government’s response to the epidemic.
“CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has begun working with five public health labs across the US to tap into their ability to conduct community based influenza surveillance, so that we can begin testing people with flu-like symptoms for novel coronavirus,” said Nancy Messonnier, a senior CDC official.
The testing will initially be carried out by labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York, but more sites are planned.
The announcement came as the number of confirmed US cases rose to 15, and about 600 people remained quarantined.
There have been almost 1,400 deaths—all but three in China, where the pathogen originated and where nearly 64,000 people have fallen ill.
The US has enacted a temporary travel ban on foreign nationals who have recently visited China, and quarantine measures for its own citizens returning from the province at its epicenter.
Messonnier added that those suspected of being exposed to the virus required repeated testing over a 14-day period, in case an early test returned a false negative.

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Explore further

China’s coronavirus has not mutated in the US, says CDC

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-02-people-flu-symptoms-coronavirus.html

2nd wave of flu hits US, extending season that got off to its earliest start in 15 years

A second wave of flu is hitting the U.S., turning this into one of the nastiest seasons for children in a decade.

The number of child deaths and the hospitalization rate for youngsters are the highest seen at this point in any season since the severe flu outbreak of 2009-10, health officials said Friday. And the wave is expected to keep going for weeks.

Experts say it is potentially a bad time for an extended flu season, given concerns about the new coronavirus out of China, which can cause symptoms that can be difficult to distinguish from flu without testing.

If coronavirus were to begin spreading in the U.S., there could be confusion about whether people are getting sick with it or the flu, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.

This flu season got off to its earliest start in 15 years, with surges of flu-like illnesses seen in parts of the South as early as October. Most cases were caused by a type of flu that usually causes substantial infections only in the spring, at the tail end of the flu season.

That wave peaked in late December and dropped steadily for weeks afterward.

But a second surge began in late January. Last week saw another rise in the percentage of doctor’s office visits that were due to flu-like illness, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We have not yet peaked for influenza. We are still on our way up,” Dr. David Weber, a University of North Carolina infectious-diseases specialist, said of the patient traffic in Chapel Hill.

Overall, the CDC estimated that 26 million Americans have gotten sick with flu this past fall and winter, with about 250,000 flu-related hospitalizations and around 14,000 deaths.

The viruses behind both waves can be hard on children and young adults. But they aren’t considered as dangerous to retirement-age people — good news, since most flu deaths and hospitalizations each winter occur in the elderly.

In fact, the overall death and hospitalization rates this season are not high “because we haven’t seen the elderly as involved in this flu season,” said the CDC’s Lynnette Brammer.

But 92 flu-related deaths have already been reported in children, a higher total at this point of the year than in any season in the past decade. And the hospitalization rates also are far higher than what’s been seen at this point.

The CDC said the reason is that two strains of the flu that are tough on children are spreading in the same season.

The health agency is expected to release an estimate next week of how effective the flu vaccine has been.

So far, only 15 U.S. cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed, and no deaths. All but two of the cases were in people who had traveled to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the international outbreak. The remaining two were spread from travelers to their spouses.

Schaffner said that for the time being, it is easy to determine a likely coronavirus case by asking about a patient’s travel history.

It’s possible that concern about the coronavirus has led some people with flu symptoms to go to the doctor for testing this year, whereas they might have just stayed home in other years, Brammer said. But there is nothing in CDC data that shows that’s been happening, she added.

Still, it’s OK if it does happen, said the CDC’s Dr. Nancy Messonnier.

“People being a little worried and seeking care doesn’t especially worry me, because that’s the point. We’re looking for broader spread within the community,” she said.

To that end, health officials will be using five public health labs that usually test for flu to start checking also for coronavirus. The labs are in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. When a specimen tests negative for flu, it will then be tested for coronavirus, Messonnier said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-flu-second-wave-20200214-ccmowexoxzbdxoz6ac6j3vzzra-story.html

FDA OKs three OTC meds under switch process

Under a process called prescription (Rx)-to-OTC switch, the FDA has approved three prescription drugs for non-prescription use.

GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) Voltaren Arthritis Pain (diclofenac sodium topical gel, 1%) for the temporary relief of arthritis pain.

Alcon’s (NYSE:ALC) Pataday Twice Daily (olopatadine HCl ophthalmic solution/drops, 0.1%) and Pataday Once Daily Relief (olopatadine HCl ophthalmic solution/drops, 0.2%), both for the temporary relief of red and itchy eyes due to certain allergens.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3542397-fda-oks-three-otc-meds-under-switch-process

Agile Therapeutics +13% on Twirla approval

Agile Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AGRX) is up 13% postmarket and on the move after announcing the FDA approved its Twirla contraceptive patch – its first approved product.

Twirla is a once-a-week transdermal treatment with a combined hormonal approach that delivers a 30 mcg daily dose of ethinyl estradiol (a type of estrogen) and a 120 mcg daily dose of levonorgestrel (a well-known progestin).

The patch can be worn on the abdomen, buttock or upper torso.

The approval followed a delayed decision from the FDA in November, to address questions coming from the advisory committee. It had a new action date of Feb. 16.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3542425-agile-therapeuticsplus-13-on-twirla-approval