February 4 News: Coronavirus cases top 20,000 as death toll rises, study halted as HIV vaccine fails in South Africa, VA tests keto diet to help diabetic patients

Associated Press – Study is halted as HIV vaccine fails test in South Africa

The latest attempt at an HIV vaccine has failed. Researchers announced Monday they have stopped giving the experimental shots in a major study that had enrolled more than 5,400 people since 2016 in South Africa, a country with one of the world’s highest HIV rates.

The Hill – Coronavirus cases top 20,000 as death toll climbs past 400 in China

China reported a large spike in coronavirus cases and deaths as of Tuesday morning, with the numbers of those infected climbing past 20,000 and the death toll reaching 425, according to China’s National Health Commission.

NPR – Most Americans say U.S. ‘doing enough’ to prevent coronavirus spread

Two-thirds of Americans say the novel coronavirus poses a "real threat" and has not been "blown out of proportion." And, though the majority of Americans are concerned about the potential spread of the virus within the U.S., 61% also say U.S. government officials are doing enough to prevent it.

The Washington Post – CT screening cuts lung cancer deaths in European men and women

A large study of smokers and ex-smokers in the Netherlands and Belgium is confirming that widespread screening using low-dose CT scans can dramatically lower lung cancer death rates.

Kaiser Health News – As VA tests Keto diet to help diabetic patients, skeptics raise red flags

A partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Silicon Valley startup Virta Health Corp. is focusing attention on the company’s claim that it provides treatment “clinically-proven to safely and sustainably reverse Type 2 diabetes” without medication or surgery.

Truthout — Trump’s Medicaid block grant plan may impact millions of low-income people

The Trump administration unveiled a plan last week that would dramatically revamp Medicaid by allowing states to opt out of part of the current federal funding program.

STAT – If Medicare negotiated insulin prices like the VA, it could have saved billions

As insulin becomes a poster child for the growing outcry over the cost of medicines, a new analysis suggests that Medicare could have saved $4.4 billion in 2017 for the diabetes treatment if the program negotiated the same prices as the Department of Veterans Affairs, which already bargains for discounts.