Health News Roundup: COVID-19 vaccine price; Britain imposes new six-month curbs and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Industry says $6 to $18 per dose is reasonable price for COVID-19 vaccine

A senior pharmaceutical industry official said on Tuesday that a price range between 5 and 15 euros ($6 to $18) per dose was reasonable for COVID-19 vaccines. A price between 5 and 15 euros a dose "is a reasonable price for a vaccine," Sue Middleton, President of the Executive Board, of Vaccines Europe told a hearing in the EU Parliament.

Chinese state-backed firm expects coronavirus vaccine approval for public use within months

State-backed vaccine maker China National Biotec Group (CNBG) is hopeful of two of its novel coronavirus vaccine candidates receiving conditional regulatory approval for general public use within the year, its vice president said on Tuesday. China has inoculated hundreds of thousands of people under an emergency programme authorised in July for essential workers and other limited groups of people considered at high risk of infection, to stave off a resurgence of the coronavirus, even as clinical trials of vaccines are still underway to prove their efficacy and safety.

CDC advisory panel to delay vote on initial COVID-19 vaccine roll-out: WSJ

A federal advisory committee will put off vote on recommending who should get initial limited doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, until members learn more about the vaccines that could become available first, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar the matter. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of external medical experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was expected to vote on Tuesday on a plan to prioritize initial doses of any vaccine that proves safe and effective in clinical trials.

No COVID-19 test, no grape harvest in Spain's Basque Country

All wine industry workers in Spain's Rioja-producing region of Alava must undergo a coronavirus test before they start work to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks putting the grape harvest at risk. Grape pickers, who have dubbed 2020 the "harvest of the masks", will be given their own equipment, including baskets and scissors, which cannot be exchanged, to avoid infections, said a spokeswoman for the Rioja wine regulatory board.

Exclusive: 'We're confident' - Russia to share legal risks of COVID-19 vaccine

Russia is so confident in its COVID-19 vaccine that it will shoulder some of the legal liability should anything go wrong, rather than requiring buyers to take on the full risk, the head of the state fund bankrolling the project told Reuters. The decision leaves the vaccine's state-backed developers open to potentially costly compensation claims should there be any unexpected side-effects. It is something many vaccine-makers have sought to avoid, by asking for full indemnity - complete protection from liability claims - from nations they sell to.

Airlines call for COVID-19 tests before all international flights

Global airlines on Tuesday called for pre-departure COVID-19 testing for all international flights to replace the quarantines and other restrictions blamed by the industry for exacerbating the travel slump. Rapid and affordable tests that can be administered by non-medical staff are expected to become available in "coming weeks" and should be rolled out under globally agreed standards, the head of the International Air Transport Association said during an online media briefing.

COVID-19 vaccine makers see EU shield against side-effect claims

Vaccine makers will be indemnified in Europe if their COVID-19 shots cause unexpected side-effects, an industry official said on Tuesday, urging European regulators to set up more predictable schemes to compensate possible victims. The European Commission has confidential liability clauses in contracts signed with AstraZeneca and Sanofi and is negotiating similar conditions with other firms for the advance purchase of their potential vaccines.

U.S. nears grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths

The death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the United States was approaching over 200,000 on Monday, by the far the highest number of any nation. The United States, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according to a Reuters tally. That is down from a peak of 2,806 daily deaths recorded on April 15.

COVID 'firepower': Britain imposes six-month curbs against second wave

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people on Tuesday to work from home where possible and ordered bars and restaurants to close early to tackle a fast-spreading second wave of COVID-19 with restrictions lasting probably six months. After government scientists cautioned that deaths may soar without urgent action, Johnson stopped short of another full lockdown as he did in March but said further action could be taken if the disease was not suppressed.

India's Serum Institute starts manufacturing Codagenix's potential COVID-19 vaccine

Codagenix Inc said on Tuesday Serum Institute of India has started manufacturing the U.S. biotech firm's potential COVID-19 vaccine and it expects to begin an early-stage human trial of the vaccine by the end of 2020 in the UK. Serum Institute, the world's largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced, will develop Codagenix's CDX-005, which is delivered intranasally rather than via injection.