 | | | | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday advised that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors and can avoid wearing them indoors in most places, updated guidance the agency said will allow life to begin to return to normal. | | | | | | Mexico's Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said on Thursday that the first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines bottled in Mexico would be ready later this month, after delays in starting operations at a local factory. | | | | | | Britain has seen a sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases of the B.1.617.2 coronavirus variant first found in India, Public Health England said on Thursday, with the total of 1,313 more than double what was reported last week. | | | | | | French health authorities reported 19,461 new confirmed COVID-19 infections on Thursday, representing a weekly rise of less than 2% for the first time in almost a year. | | | | | | Ontario will extend its stay-at-home order for an additional two weeks to June 2, as COVID-19 cases finally begin to trend downwards in one of Canada's hardest hit provinces, Premier Doug Ford said on Thursday. | | | | | | The United States stands with Honduras and condemns the "cynical use" of COVID-19 vaccines for political purposes, the State Department said, after Taiwan blasted China for seeking to use vaccines to make diplomatic inroads with one of Taipei's allies. | | | | | | India recorded more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths for a second straight day on Thursday as infections stayed below 400,000, and extended the interval between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to up to 16 weeks amid a dire shortage of shots in the country. | | | | | | Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for use in children as young as 12 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week - but do not expect schools to require shots for students anytime soon given public hesitation and political hurdles. | | | | | | Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) repeatedly offered to sell its COVID-19 vaccine to Brazil's Health Ministry between August and November last year, but got no answer from the government, Pfizer's chief executive for Latin America told lawmakers on Thursday. | | | | | | India's most populous state will spend up to $1.36 billion to buy COVID-19 shots and held early talks this week with companies such as Pfizer (PFE.N) and the local partner of the maker of Russia's Sputnik V, a state official said on Thursday. | | | | | |
