EUROPE
* As the UK’s COVID-19 dying toll approached 100,000, grief-stricken kin expressed anger over the federal government’s dealing with of the pandemic, whereas vaccine makers confronted the warmth in different components of Europe.
* A number of Spanish areas ramped up anti-coronavirus measures after weeks of incremental tightening have did not tame a rampant third wave.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated he was taking a look at toughening border quarantine guidelines due to the danger of “vaccine-busting” new variants.
* AstraZeneca isn’t doing sufficient to attempt to resolve a dispute over delayed COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union, the bloc’s prime well being official stated.
* The Italian authorities despatched a letter of formal discover to Pfizer calling on the corporate to respect its contractual commitments over its COVID-19 vaccine deliveries.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confronted renewed strain over his dealing with of the pandemic, whereas a London-based forecaster predicted the nation is prone to obtain herd immunity via mass inoculations solely months after the deliberate Tokyo Olympics.
* Pfizer will pursue its request for India to approve its COVID-19 vaccine if the federal government commits to purchasing photographs, the US drugmaker informed Reuters.
* Thailand stated it will begin its coronavirus inoculation program subsequent month by administering the AstraZeneca vaccine.
* Hong Kong has formally authorized use of the Fosun Pharma-BioNTech, vaccine, the primary COVID-19 vaccine to be accepted within the Asian monetary hub.
* New Zealand confirmed its first case locally in months.
* Pakistan is all set to approve the Russian Sputnik vaccine for emergency use.
AMERICAS
* The world’s largest syringe maker doesn’t have the capability to considerably improve US provides of speciality syringes wanted to squeeze extra doses from Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine vials within the coming weeks, an govt stated in an interview.
* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s announcement that he had COVID-19 has raised contemporary questions over his dealing with of the pandemic and set off a scramble by prime officers to get examined.
* Russia will provide Mexico with 24 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine over the subsequent two months.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Turkey acquired 6.5 million additional doses of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, a number of native media reviews stated.
* Russia and China have approached Zimbabwe about supplying vaccines to sort out its escalating COVID-19 outbreak amid concern about Harare’s capacity to afford the photographs.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Moderna stated it believes its COVID-19 vaccine protects towards new variants present in Britain and South Africa, though it is going to take a look at a brand new booster shot aimed on the South Africa variant after concluding that the antibody response could possibly be diminished.
* Drugmaker Merck & Co stated it will cease improvement of its two COVID-19 vaccines and focus pandemic analysis on remedies.
* A British research discovered broadly used antibiotics azithromycin and doxycycline had been usually ineffective towards early-stage COVID-19.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* World inventory markets lacked course, with optimism over a $US1.9 trillion ($A2.5 trillion) US stimulus plan offset by rising COVID-19 circumstances and delays in vaccine provides.
* Some 8.Eight per cent of world working hours had been misplaced final yr because of the pandemic, roughly 4 instances the quantity misplaced within the 2009 monetary disaster, however there are “tentative indicators” of restoration, the Worldwide Labour Organisation stated.
GLOBAL
DEATHS: 2,146,126
CASES: 100,147,068
RECOVERED: 72,089,599
