BRUSSELS (Reuters) -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.
Germany's 16 federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year, offering some relaxation of coronavirus restrictions to let families and friends celebrate together, a draft proposal showed on Tuesday.
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 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.
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.
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.
Millions of Americans appeared to be disregarding public health warnings and travelling ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while German states planned a relaxation of restrictions to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year.
British health minister Matt Hancock said that 'test and trace' cannot control the coronavirus in the way that an effective system of mass testing can, as he defended the performance of the heavily criticised contact tracing system.
China's President Xi Jinping has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that China is willing to step up cooperation and communication with Germany on a coronavirus vaccine, according to a report from state CCTV television on Tuesday.
