Health News Roundup: EU drug regulator could rule on COVID-19 vaccines by year end; Decades of work, and half a dose of fortune, drove Oxford vaccine success and more

British drugmaker AstraZeneca followed rivals Pfizer and Moderna on Monday in publishing successful pivotal trial data for its COVID-19 vaccine, giving the world's fight against the pandemic a third new weapon.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

EU drug regulator could rule on COVID-19 vaccines by year end - report

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) could produce a scientific opinion on COVID-19 vaccines seeking regulatory approval by the end of the year in a best case scenario, the regulator's new chief was quoted as saying on Tuesday. British drugmaker AstraZeneca followed rivals Pfizer and Moderna on Monday in publishing successful pivotal trial data for its COVID-19 vaccine, giving the world's fight against the pandemic a third new weapon.

EU reaches deal for supply of 160 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

The European Union has reached a deal with U.S. biotech firm Moderna for the supply of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday. Last week Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial.

EU has deal with Moderna for supply of COVID-19 vaccine candidate- von der Leyen

The European Union has reached a deal with U.S. biotech firm Moderna for the supply of up to 160 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the president of the European Commission said on Tuesday. The deal will be formally approved by the EU executive on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Decades of work, and half a dose of fortune, drove Oxford vaccine success

It took Oxford University's brightest minds decades of work to give them the expertise to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. In the end, it was a momentary error - and a dose of good fortune - that carried them over the line. The Oxford vaccinologists were exhilarated on Monday when drugmaker AstraZeneca, with whom they developed the shot, announced that it could be around 90% effective, citing data from late-stage trials.

Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine to cost less than $20 per person internationally

Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will cost less than $20 per person on international markets and Moscow aims to produce more than a billion doses at home and abroad next year, its backers and developers said on Tuesday. The Sputnik vaccine is administered in two shots, each of which will cost less than $10 each, according to the official Sputnik V Twitter account. For Russian citizens, vaccination will be free of charge.

Hundreds of millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses secured -GAVI alliance

The GAVI vaccine alliance on Tuesday welcomed Astrazeneca's interim data on efficiency of its COVID-19 vaccine, calling it "positive news for the COVAX vision of equitable access" for vulnerable groups worldwide. Hundreds of millions of doses of the candidate vaccine have been secured on behalf of the COVAX facility, per agreements, the Geneva-based GAVI alliance that leads the initiative along with the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

'We're drowning': COVID cases flood hospitals in America's heartland

Dr. Drew Miller knew his patient had to be moved. The vital signs of the 30-year-old COVID-19 victim were crashing, and Kearny County Hospital in rural Lakin, Kansas, just wasn't equipped to handle the case. Miller, Kearny's chief medical officer - who doubles as the county health officer - called around to larger hospitals in search of an ICU bed. With coronavirus cases soaring throughout Kansas, he said, he couldn't find a single one.

Kremlin says healthcare under heavy strain as COVID-19 deaths hit new high

The Kremlin said on Tuesday Russia's healthcare system was under heavy strain as authorities reported a record 491 deaths linked to COVID-19 and infections surged. Russia has resisted imposing national lockdown restrictions, as it did earlier this year, preferring targeted regional measures, even as thousands of cases are reported each day, with 24,326 new infections on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca must prove claim to cheapest COVID-19 vaccine - MSF

AstraZeneca must prove its claim that its potential COVID-19 vaccine has the lowest price of the main candidates so far, non-governmental organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Tuesday, urging the company to make public its supply contracts. The British firm said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective in pivotal trials and could be up to 90% effective, giving the world's fight against the global pandemic a third new weapon that can be cheaper to make, easier to distribute and faster to scale-up than rivals.

Italy set for 16 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots in early 2021 -source

Italy is set to receive 16 million shots of the potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca in the first months of 2021 as part of a supply deal agreed at a European Union level, a government source said. This initial supply will immunize 8 million people as the AstraZeneca vaccine requires an initial shot followed by a booster, the source said on Tuesday.