Health News Roundup: Emergent receives FDA warning letter over quality control issues; Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist

China’s financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures. The city will require all teachers and students to take nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus every day before leaving campus, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission said.

U.S. and Switzerland working on facilitating pharma trade – U.S. ambassador

The United States and Switzerland can move towards free trade between their countries with sectoral deals and they are working on facilitating business in the pharmaceutical sector, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper. Scott Miller said that in the last round of trade negotiations between the two countries, Switzerland was not prepared to open its agricultural market for U.S. products.

Zimbabwe blames measles surge on sect gatherings after 80 children die

A measles outbreak has killed 80 children in Zimbabwe since April, the ministry of health has said, blaming church sect gatherings for the surge. In a statement seen by Reuters on Sunday, the ministry said the outbreak had now spread nationwide, with a case fatality rate of 6.9%.

Idaho top court allows near-total abortion ban to take effect

Idaho’s top court on Friday refused to stop a Republican-backed state law criminalizing nearly all abortions from taking effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade that had recognized a constitutional right to the procedure. In a 3-2 ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected a bid by a Planned Parenthood affiliate to prevent a ban from taking effect on Aug. 25 that the abortion provider argued would violate Idahoans’ privacy and equal protection rights under the state’s constitution. The measure allows for abortions only in cases of rape, incest or to prevent a pregnant woman’s death.

Shanghai extends weekly COVID-19 testing requirement until end of September

China’s most populous city Shanghai has extended its weekly COVID-19 test requirement and extended free testing until the end of September in a bid to keep the virus in check, authorities announced on Saturday. Citizens without a record of a nucleic acid test from within seven days will be assigned a yellow code on Shanghai’s health code system, the official notice said. A yellow code restricts access to some public venues.

Analysis-U.S. move to negotiate drug prices a rare defeat for Big Pharma

Big Pharma spent more than any other industry to lobby Congress and federal agencies this year, a Reuters analysis shows, but still suffered a major defeat after failing to stop a bill that allows the government to negotiate prices on select drugs. Despite the pharmaceutical industry’s spending at least $142 million on lobbying efforts, the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act to change climate, health and tax policies will become law. It cleared its largest hurdle last week with passage in the Senate, without any Republicans joining Democrats in voting for the bill, followed by passage by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.

Emergent receives FDA warning letter over quality control issues

Emergent BioSolutions Inc said on Friday it had received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, citing certain deficiencies at the contract drugmaker’s manufacturing facility in Baltimore, Maryland. The FDA pointed to deficiencies in cleaning and maintenance of equipment to prevent contamination of drug product and also recommended the company review its quality control process, Emergent said.

(With inputs from agencies.)