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EU countries will start inoculating people against COVID from December 27, said the head of the EU commission, assuming the EU regulator approves a vaccine.
In South Africa, more than 10,000 cases were reported daily as infections increased, the health minister said. The worst affected region is the Western Cape, including the tourist destinations of Cape Town and the wine region of South Africa.
Previously, the US set a double record, recording more than 3,700 deaths and more than 250,000 new cases in just 24 hours.
Globally, deaths from COVID-19 have exceeded 1.6 million with more than 7.4 million infections.
Here are all the latest updates:
Portuguese coast in isolation after meeting Macron
Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa has canceled official trips and is under quarantine, his office says.
Costa met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for COVID, less than 24 hours ago.
His office said Costa was showing no symptoms and was awaiting the result of a coronavirus test they did Thursday.
The Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, showed no symptoms and is awaiting the test results. [Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters]
King of Sweden says ‘we have failed’ on COVID-19, as deaths rise
Sweden’s king says his country failed in its handling of COVID-19, harshly criticizing a pandemic policy partly credited with a high death toll among the elderly.
Carl XVI Gustaf, whose son and daughter-in-law tested positive last month, used an annual royal Christmas television special to highlight the growing impact of the virus, a rare intervention by a monarch whose duties are largely ceremonial.
King Charles XVI Gustav of Sweden used an annual royal Christmas television special to highlight the growing impact of the virus. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
BioNTech says 140,000 vaccinated in the UK so far
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID vaccine has been administered to 140,000 people in the UK, and comments on side effects and tolerability have been reassuring, BioNTech’s chief medical officer said Thursday.
The UK was the first to approve the injection for emergency use on December 3, followed by Canada and the US.
Sánchez quarantines himself after Frenchman Macron tests positive for COVID-19
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will remain in quarantine until December 24 after French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID, his office said.
Sánchez and Macron met in Paris on Monday.
French President Macron welcomes Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez at the Elysee Palace [Christian Hartmann/Reuters]
COVID vaccines to start across the EU from December 27, says Germany
All EU member states plan to start COVID vaccines from December 27, says German Health Minister Jens Spahn.
“In Germany, we will start, if the approval comes as planned, on December 27. The other EU countries want to be able to start … from December 27,” he said before an online meeting with the chancellor. Angela Merkel, and executives from the vaccine manufacturer BioNTech.
As a member of the EU, Germany is generally obliged to wait for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to approve the vaccine.
EU to ask for more Pfizer vaccine after rejecting previous offer
The EU will take its option to buy up to 100 million more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID vaccine after turning down an opportunity in July for a much larger deal, according to EU officials and an internal document.
The plan comes after some of the EU-mandated vaccine candidates faced unexpected delays in clinical trials, forcing the bloc and other wealthy nations to rely for now on injections from fewer manufacturers than initially planned.
Vietnam begins human trial of coronavirus vaccine
A Vietnamese pharmaceutical company has begun testing a coronavirus vaccine on volunteers in Hanoi, as developing countries compete with wealthier nations for access to affordable vaccines.
Nanogen’s Nanocovax is one of four vaccines in development in Vietnam, and a company representative said it’s expected to cost around $ 5 per dose.
Three volunteers received the jab and will be monitored for 72 hours at the Vietnam Military Medical University.
France’s Macron tests positive for COVID
French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID, the French presidential palace said.
“The President of the Republic has been diagnosed with a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 today,” his office said in a statement. “This diagnosis was made after a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms.”
The presidency said it would isolate itself for the next seven days.
Read more here.
President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for COVID-19 [File: Thomas Coex/AFP]
WHO says Beijing welcomes COVID-19 researchers’ trip to China
Beijing will welcome an international team of COVID-19 researchers traveling to China in January, said the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the mission.
China has strongly opposed calls for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, saying those calls are anti-China, but has been open to a WHO-led investigation.
However, it was unclear whether WHO researchers will travel to the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected, and discussions about the itinerary will continue.
Pence will get the vaccine on Friday, Biden next week
US Vice President Mike Pence will be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Friday at a public event, the White House has said, and President-elect Joe Biden is expected to receive the vaccine next week, a transition official said. of Biden.
Saudi Arabia begins COVID-19 vaccination
Saudi Arabia started vaccines against the coronavirus, says its health ministry, a day after receiving two shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Images from al-Ekhbariya television showed a man and a woman at a medical center in the capital Riyadh getting vaccinated. Soon after, the Minister of Health, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, received the vaccine.
Read more here.
Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah receives COVID-19 vaccine in Riyadh [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]
The death toll from coronavirus in the Czech Republic exceeds 10,000
The total death toll in the Czech Republic from the coronavirus has exceeded 10,000, the Health Ministry reported.
The country of 10.7 million, one of the worst affected in Europe during the second wave of the pandemic, recorded 8,235 new COVID infections on Wednesday, its highest daily count since November 11. In total, 602,404 infections have been reported since March.
A health worker stands outside the hospital where a voluntary rapid antigen test campaign for the coronavirus disease is being carried out, in Prague [David W Cerny/Reuters]
Palestinians wait while Israel is ready to deploy a vaccine
Israel will begin implementing a major coronavirus vaccination campaign next week after the prime minister personally contacted the head of a major pharmaceutical company. Millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control will have to wait much longer.
Around the world, rich nations are grabbing scarce supplies of new vaccines as poor countries rely on a WHO program that has yet to take off.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attends the arrival of a first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine [File: Abir Sultan/Reuters]
WHO: Vaccination in Asia-Pacific planned for mid to late 2021
The WHO has said that countries in the Asia-Pacific region are not guaranteed to have early access to COVID vaccines and urged them to take a long-term approach to the pandemic.
“Developing safe and effective vaccines is one thing. Producing them in adequate quantities and reaching all those who need them is another, ”WHO Regional Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
WHO representatives also urged that vaccination be prioritized for high-risk groups. [Erin Clark/Reuters]
Pakistan records second deadliest day of coronavirus pandemic
Pakistan has recorded its second deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic with at least 105 deaths, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
The death toll since the outbreak began in February has reached 9,080.
Sweden struggles with the second wave
Despite the sharper tone from the authorities and the new restrictions, Sweden, which has relied on non-coercive measures, is struggling to contain a second severe wave of COVID-19 that it thought it could avoid.
Stockholm, the capital, is once again at the epicenter of the epidemic and this week called on members of the public with medical training to help offset some of the burdens on its healthcare system.
Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany increase by 26,923
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen from 26,923 to 1,406,161. The reported death toll increased by 698 to 24,125.
Chilean health regulator approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
The Chilean health regulator approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine for emergency use, paving the way for the first doses to be administered as of December 25 to citizens over 16 years of age.
The Institute of Public Health received Pfizer’s application for approval on November 27, and a panel of experts was convened to analyze the vaccine data provided by the US drug manufacturer.
India registers 24,037 new cases of coronavirus
India reported 24,037 new coronavirus infections, bringing its count to 9.96 million, data from the Health Ministry shows.
This is the fourth day in a row that daily cases have remained below 30,000, maintaining the country’s trend of decreasing daily cases since reaching a peak of 97,000 single-day infections in September.
India has the second highest number of infections in the world after the United States.
US Sets New Daily Records for 3,700 COVID Deaths, 250,000 Cases
The United States has set a double record, recording more than 3,700 deaths and more than 250,000 new COVID cases in just 24 hours.
The most recent figures bring the total number of deaths in the US to more than 307,291.
Read more here.
People in protective masks walk as snow begins to fall in Times Square during COVID pandemic [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]
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