Health News Roundup: Most people would get COVID-19 vaccine; U.S. FDA meeting on COVID-19 vaccines and more

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Oct. 19 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/34fptxV) Mexico could absorb some COVID-19 vaccine liabilities Mexico's government could absorb some liabilities arising from unexpected side effects of COVID-19 vaccines but is not considering creating a fund to do so, a top official said.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Most people would get COVID-19 vaccine if offered by government or employer: poll

Most people would get a COVID-19 vaccine if their government or employer recommended it, results of a global poll showed on Tuesday, amid growing concerns about public distrust of the shots being developed at speed to end the pandemic. Some 71.5% of participants said they would be very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine and 61.4% reported they would accept their employer's recommendation to do so, according to the survey in June of more than 13,000 people in 19 countries.

U.S. FDA meeting on COVID-19 vaccines to discuss criteria for emergency nod

The U.S. health regulator's criteria for allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine and plans to monitor its safety after a regulatory go-ahead, are among the topics to be discussed at a closely watched meeting scheduled for Thursday. Details posted on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website showed the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has formulated plans to monitor safety and effectiveness of a vaccine even after the FDA allows for its emergency use.

U.S. CDC reports 219,499 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 8,188,585 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 60,061 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 513 to 219,499. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Oct. 19 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/34fptxV)

Mexico could absorb some COVID-19 vaccine liabilities

Mexico's government could absorb some liabilities arising from unexpected side effects of COVID-19 vaccines but is not considering creating a fund to do so, a top official said. As various vaccine candidates make their way through different stages of clinical trials, it is unclear who foots the bill if people in poor countries fall sick from treatments.

New York governor discourages nonessential travel from New Jersey, Connecticut

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wanted to limit nonessential travel from New Jersey and Connecticut as the neighboring states see upticks in novel coronavirus cases and that he would announce new guidance on Wednesday. "There's no practical way to quarantine New York from New Jersey and Connecticut, there are just too many interchanges," Cuomo, a Democrat, told reporters on a conference call, noting the many people living in the states who commute to jobs in New York City.

Exclusive: AstraZeneca U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trial may resume as soon as this week - sources

AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine trial in the United States is expected to resume as early as this week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of a serious illness, four sources told Reuters. AstraZeneca's large, late-stage U.S. trial has been on hold since Sept. 6, after a participant in the company's UK trial fell ill with what was suspected to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.

U.S. reports about 300,000 more deaths than usual during pandemic: CDC

Nearly 300,000 more people have died in the United States in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic than expected based on historical trends, with about two-thirds of the deaths due to COVID-19 illnesses, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report https://bit.ly/34gTD3L from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 299,028 more people died between Jan. 26 and Oct. 3 than the average numbers from past years would have indicated.

China's Sinovac vaccine to be included in Brazil's immunization program, governors say

The Brazilian government will include China's Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 in its national immunization program, state governors said on Tuesday after a meeting with the country's health minister, in addition to one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. This means the experimental Chinese vaccine called Coronavac, which Brazil's largest state of Sao Paulo had hoped to provide to its residents, may also be used to vaccinate Brazilians elsewhere, a major success for Sinovac in a nation of 230 million people.

UK plans COVID-19 'challenge' trials that deliberately infect volunteers

Britain will help to fund trials using a manufactured COVID-19 virus to deliberately infect young healthy volunteers with the hope of accelerating the development of vaccines against it. The government said on Tuesday it will invest 33.6 million pounds ($43.5 million) in the so-called "human challenge" trials in partnership with Imperial College London, laboratory and trial services company hVIVO and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

France again sees more than 20,000 coronavirus infections in a day

France again reported more than 20,000 new confirmed coronavirus infections in a day, a total of 20,468, after the daily tally dipped to 13,243 on Monday. Last week, France saw five days with more than 20,000 new cases per day and two days with more than 30,000. The total now stands at 930,745 and looks set to jump above the 1 million mark before the end of this week if the trend continues.