 | | | | Venezuela received its first shipment of doses of leftist ally Cuba's Abdala coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, the South American country's vice president said, while slamming wealthy countries for "sabotaging" the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme. | | | | | | President Joe Biden heads to North Carolina on Thursday to encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccinations as the rate of inoculations slows despite a nationwide effort to get shots in arms to stop the spread of the coronavirus. | | | | | | Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 5,340 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country and 221 more fatalities, bringing the total figures to 2,493,087 infections and 232,068 deaths. | | | | | | The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that people most vulnerable to COVID-19, such as the elderly, will need to get an annual vaccine booster to be protected against variants, an internal document seen by Reuters shows. | | | | | | The United States has administered 320,687,205 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 379,248,700 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. | | | | | | At a Rastafari farming community high up in the hills above Jamaica's capital, dreadlocked locals gather at the temple to worship and celebrate with Bible readings and traditional drumming and chanting. No COVID-19 protocols are in place. | | | | | | European Union lawmakers on Thursday passed a resolution calling for the bloc's 27 countries to ensure the right to legal and safe abortion in a push to improve women's sexual and reproductive health. | | | | | | Switzerland's move to allow large public events with 10,000-plus people from Saturday comes as government data appears to show vaccines are helping control new infections that are mostly hitting people who remain unprotected. | | | | | | Discounts on items ranging from fast food to flights are being offered by Indian firms keen to lure people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, as the economy re-opens gradually from weeks of lockdown. | | | | | | Italy reported 28 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday against 30 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 927 from 951. | | | | | |
