Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

German health minister warns against ‘party holidays’

The German health minister said on Saturday party holidays were irresponsible as he defended a decision to declare nearly all of Spain, including the tourist island of Mallorca, a coronavirus risk region following a spike in cases there. “I know how much the Germans love Spain … But unfortunately the infection rates there are rising sharply, too sharply,” Jens Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

As COVID-19 cases rise in U.S., precious plasma donations lag

In late April, a coalition of New Mexico healthcare systems began asking local COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma, the antibody-rich blood product used to help treat people hospitalized with the disease. More than 50 people donated in May, but then the numbers starting falling, according to data from Vitalant, a nonprofit blood bank that works with the coalition to recruit donors. In June, 34 people gave plasma to the effort, the data show; in July it was just 29.

LA mayor embraces shift in COVID-19 testing strategy: simplicity and speed

The mayor of the second-largest U.S. city has joined a growing clamor among health experts and politicians for a radical shift in the nation’s coronavirus testing strategy – from an emphasis on the utmost accuracy to a focus on speed and simplicity. The concept envisions mass production and distribution of low-cost, do-it-yourself diagnostic kits based on paper-strip designs that can be used frequently and produce results in minutes, similar to home pregnancy tests. No lab equipment or special instruments would be required.

Russia produces first batch of COVID-19 vaccine: Interfax

Russia has produced the first batch of its new vaccine for COVID-19, the Interfax news agency quoted the health ministry as saying on Saturday, hours after the ministry reported the start of manufacturing. Some scientists said they fear that with this fast regulatory approval Moscow may be putting national prestige before safety amid the global race to develop a vaccine against the disease.

U.S. CDC says updated isolation guidance does not imply immunity to COVID-19

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday its updated isolation guidance does not imply that a person is immune to re-infection with the novel coronavirus. “Contrary to media reporting today, this science does not imply a person is immune to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the 3 months following infection”, the CDC said in statement https://bit.ly/3g05uG6.

Exclusive: U.S. to make coronavirus strain for possible human challenge trials

U.S. government scientists have begun efforts to manufacture a strain of the novel coronavirus that could be used in human challenge trials of vaccines, a controversial type of study in which healthy volunteers would be vaccinated and then intentionally infected with the virus, Reuters has learned. The work is preliminary and such trials would not replace large-scale, Phase 3 trials such as those now under way in the United States testing experimental COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc, according to a statement emailed to Reuters by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Denmark to make face masks compulsory on public transport

Wearing face masks on public transport will be compulsory in Denmark from Aug. 22 following a spike in numbers of new coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Saturday. In mid-April, Denmark became one the first European countries to ease its coronavirus lockdown as the epidemic appeared to be contained, but the reproduction rate at which it is spreading rose above 1.5 in the past week, the highest reading since early April.

Roche gets U.S. approval for Enspryng, takes on Alexion’s Soliris

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday approved Roche’s Enspryng for the central nervous system disorder neuromyelitis optica, putting the Swiss drugmaker head-to-head with Alexion’s Soliris in a costly treatment area. Enspryng, also known by its generic name satralizumab, is already approved in Japan and comes as a shot that people can give to themselves. The wholesale acquisition cost for Enspryng is just under $220,000 for the first year when 15 doses are needed, and $190,000 for subsequent years when 13 doses are required, Roche said.

Hispanics, African Americans hit hard in U.S. COVID-19 hotspot counties, says CDC

U.S. coronavirus hotspots had disproportionately high numbers of cases among communities of color, according to an analysis on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report adds to a growing body of evidence that long-standing health and social inequities have resulted in increased risk for infection and death from COVID-19 among communities of color, the CDC said https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6933e1.htm?s_cid=mm6933e1_w. California encouraged by trends even as it passes 600,000 coronavirus cases, most in U.S.

California became the first U.S. state to surpass 600,000 cases of COVID-19 on Friday and the Midwest saw several record one-day rises as some states struggled to contain the pandemic even as a few welcomed students back to school campuses. California went over 603,000 novel coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, although Governor Gavin Newsom said he was encouraged to see that hospitalizations have declined 20% over the past two weeks and admissions to ICU wards were down 14% in the same period.