 | | | | Africa's coronavirus case fatality rate has risen alarmingly to 2.5%, higher than the global level of 2.2%, the head of the continent's disease control body said on Thursday. | | | | | | Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday defended a decision to extend a hard lockdown in Germany by two weeks until mid-February, saying it was necessary to slow a new and more aggressive variant of the coronavirus. | | | | | | European Union leaders were seeking on Thursday to address the coronavirus pandemic's mounting challenges, including increased calls to limit travel and tighten border controls to contain more infectious variants of the disease. | | | | | | At Milton Keynes University Hospital in England, it's a battle between life and death. For those most ill, death is gaining the upper hand. | | | | | | The UAE health ministry on Thursday approved Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, state media reported, as infection levels hit a record and only weeks after vaccine trials began in the United Arab Emirates. | | | | | | South Africa will pay $5.25 per dose for COVID-19 vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII) - well above what others, including developed nations, are paying for the same shots, local newspaper Business Day reported on Thursday. | | | | | | Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: | | | | | | The United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. | | | | | | Portugal is preparing to shut all kindergartens, schools and universities from Friday to tackle a steep rise in coronavirus cases, Lusa news agency and Publico newspaper said on Thursday. | | | | | | Data supports Britain's decision to move to a 12-week dosing schedule for Pfizer's COVID vaccine, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday, adding details on efficacy gathered during the rollout would be published as soon as possible. | | | | | | Hungary's drug regulator has given initial approval for use of Britain's AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik V vaccines against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday, confirming media reports. | | | | | |
