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Live Updates: European Commission Authorises 4th COVID Vaccine After EMA Approval

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The global death toll from the coronavirus has topped 2.619 million and over 117.9 million cases of the infection have been detected, according to Baltimore... 11.03.2021, Sputnik International

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global covid-19 cases spike to highest level post-lockdown, newsfeed

Live Updates: European Commission Authorises 4th COVID Vaccine After EMA Approval

04:38 GMT 11.03.2021 (Updated: 15:49 GMT 11.03.2021)

The global death toll from the coronavirus has topped 2.619 million and over 117.9 million cases of the infection have been detected, according to Baltimore, Maryland's Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from national and local authorities, the media and other sources.

The United States, India and Brazil lead in terms of the number of registered coronavirus infections, while the largest number of COVID-19-related deaths has been observed in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India, according to Johns Hopkins University.

US President Joe Biden plans to procure an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose coronavirus vaccine, White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said.

Meanwhile, the European Union may face a third wave of coronavirus transmissions and fresh lockdowns this fall if states fail to roll out vaccines rapidly, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, said.

Follow Sputnik’s feed to find out more.

Table of contents

00:07 GMT 12.03.2021

Biden to Announce Deployment of 4,000 More Troops to Support Vaccination

23:41 GMT 11.03.2021

Biden to Reportedly Make All Adults Eligible For Vaccine By 1 May

23:39 GMT 11.03.2021

Los Angeles County to Re-Open Movie Theatres at 25% Capacity When it Enters Red Tier

23:03 GMT 11.03.2021

US State of Oklahoma Lifts Remaining Coronavirus Restrictions

22:47 GMT 11.03.2021

Canadian Politicians Mourn Over 22,000 Killed by COVID-19 as Country Nears 900K Cases

21:33 GMT 11.03.2021

WHO Says Assessing Reports on Risks Related to AstraZeneca Vaccine Against COVID-19

20:24 GMT 11.03.2021

Biden Signs American Rescue Plan Act, With $1.9 Trillion in COVID-19 Relief

18:38 GMT 11.03.2021

COVAX to Deliver Vaccines to Palestine in Next Couple of Weeks, UN Spokesman Says

18:37 GMT 11.03.2021

New York Governor: Mandatory Quarantine for Domestic Travelers to Be Lifted on 1 Apr

18:37 GMT 11.03.2021

UN Chief Says Worried About Vaccine Nationalism, Hoarding in Wealthy Countries

17:54 GMT 11.03.2021

French Foreign Minister in Self-Isolation After Contacting COVID-Positive Person, Ministry Official Says

17:29 GMT 11.03.2021

AstraZeneca Says Phase III Clinical Trials Showed Its Vaccine 'Generally Well' Tolerated

16:50 GMT 11.03.2021

UK Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 125,000

16:45 GMT 11.03.2021

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel Test Positive for COVID-19

16:43 GMT 11.03.2021

Czech Medical Experts Launch Probe Into 3 Deaths Allegedly Tied to Vaccination

16:18 GMT 11.03.2021

UN Launches Global Campaign to Promote Equal Access to Coronavirus Vaccines

16:14 GMT 11.03.2021

Serbia to Start Production of Sputnik V Vaccine Before 20 May, Minister Says

16:10 GMT 11.03.2021

German Regulator Looks Into Denmark's Decision to Suspend Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine

15:49 GMT 11.03.2021

European Commission Authorises 4th COVID Vaccine After EMA Approval

15:27 GMT 11.03.2021

Hungary to Ask European Commission to Publish Vaccine Contracts, Hungarian Official Says

15:26 GMT 11.03.2021

UK Drug Regulator Tells Brits to Get Vaccinated Despite Concerns Over AstraZeneca Safety

15:25 GMT 11.03.2021

US Marines Contact Recovered COVID-19 Victims to Extend Long-Term Study, Pentagon Says

15:25 GMT 11.03.2021

UK 'Confident' AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Use, Foreign Secretary Says

15:23 GMT 11.03.2021

Iceland Suspends Use of AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine

15:15 GMT 11.03.2021

Russia's Sputnik V is the World's Safest COVID Vaccine, ABC News Says

14:56 GMT 11.03.2021

Italy Significantly Amends Vaccination Plan, Makes It Mandatory for All Regions, Reports Say

14:29 GMT 11.03.2021

Spain Saw No Post-Vaccination Blood Clots Cases Linked to AstraZeneca, Health Minister Says

14:11 GMT 11.03.2021

Sputnik V Vaccine Approved in Namibia

13:23 GMT 11.03.2021

EU Regulator Approves Use of 4th COVID-19 Vaccine, From Johnson&Johnson, Final Decision Will Be Made By European Commission

13:11 GMT 11.03.2021

France Softens Conditions for Entry, Exit From Countries Outside EU

12:36 GMT 11.03.2021

Azerbaijan to Buy Sputnik V Vaccine Doses From Russia

12:16 GMT 11.03.2021

China to Continue to Cooperate With WHO to Establish Origin of COVID-19

11:02 GMT 11.03.2021

Companies GlaxoSmithKline, Biotechnology Say Their Drug Against COVID-19 Highly Effective

10:48 GMT 11.03.2021

WHO Africa Director Hails COVAX as 14.8Mln Vaccine Doses Delivered to 22 African Nations

09:28 GMT 11.03.2021

AstraZeneca Vaccination Temporary Halted in Denmark, Health Authority Says

08:27 GMT 11.03.2021

First Cases of UK Coronavirus Variant Detected in Belarus

08:01 GMT 11.03.2021

Russia Registers 9,270 COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours

07:49 GMT 11.03.2021

EU Exports Millions of COVID Shots Despite Internal Supply Crisis, Reports Say

06:50 GMT 11.03.2021

Mexico Vaccinated Over Third of Rural Areas Against COVID-19

06:47 GMT 11.03.2021

Japan Needs to Hold Clinical Trials of Russia's Sputnik V Before Using Vaccine, Official Says

06:35 GMT 11.03.2021

South Korea Authorized AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine for Citizens Aged 65+

05:53 GMT 11.03.2021

El Salvador Expects to Receive 1st COVAX Vaccine Shipment on Thursday

05:08 GMT 11.03.2021

New Restrictions Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Take Effect in Estonia

05:02 GMT 11.03.2021

Number of COVID-19 Cases in India Rises by 22,854 Over Past 24 Hours

04:38 GMT 11.03.2021

Turkey Registers Over 40,000 Cases of Infection With UK Coronavirus Strain

New firstOld first

00:05 GMT 12.03.2021

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden plans to announce in a televised address a three-fold increase to 6,000 of active duty troops deployed across the United States in support of vaccination efforts, the White House said.

“President Biden will announce the deployment of more than 4,000 active duty troops to support vaccination efforts, bringing the total to over 6,000 in all,” according to the speech preview on Thursday evening.

23:41 GMT 11.03.2021

US President Joe Biden will order to make all adults in America eligible for receiving the coronavirus vaccine by 1 May, according to two administration sources briefing reporters before his Thursday address.

"Today, in the next phase of our vaccination effort, the President will announce that he will direct states, Tribes, and territories to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine no later than May 1st," the release said on Thursday.

23:33 GMT 11.03.2021

Movie theaters will be allowed to re-open at 25% capacity when Los Angeles County reaches the "red" tier, which will happen approximately between 15 March and 17 March.

23:02 GMT 11.03.2021

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US State of Oklahoma is ready to get back to normal by lifting the remaining coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions, Governor Kevin Stitt said in a press briefing.

“Because of the progress we’ve made, I’ll be issuing a new executive order tomorrow. There will be no state-wide restrictions on events and Oklahomans. I’m also removing the requirement to wear a mask in state buildings,” Stitt said on Thursday.

As more Oklahomans continue to get vaccines, wearing a mask should be a personal decision based on circumstances, Stitt added.

The governor said more than 400,000 people have been vaccinated for the coronavirus in Oklahoma out of a population of 4 million.

22:46 GMT 11.03.2021

TORONTO (Sputnik) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led a special parliamentary session on Thursday to commemorate the more than 22,000 Canadians who have lost their lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

“On this National Day of Observance for COVID-19, we remember the people we’ve lost,” Trudeau told Canada’s House of Commons.

There were a number of processions held across Canada, most notably in Quebec, which has accounted for nearly half of the country’s virus-related deaths despite being home to less than a quarter of the Canadian population.

The day of remembrance comes as Canada is poised to exceed 900,000 cumulative cases of the disease. As of Thursday, Canadian health officials have logged over 898,825 coronavirus cases and 23,300 virus-related deaths.

21:32 GMT 11.03.2021

GENOA, (Sputnik) – A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) told Sputnik that its Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) was carefully assessing the reports on risks related to the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19.

"The GACVS is carefully assessing the current reports on the Astra Zeneca vaccine. As soon as WHO has gained a full understanding of these events, the findings and any changes to current recommendations will be immediately communicated to the public," the spokesperson said on late Thursday.

20:24 GMT 11.03.2021

US President Joe Biden signing the American Rescue Plan Act into law in the Oval Office on March 11, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920

Biden Signs American Rescue Plan Act, With $1.9 Trillion in COVID-19 Relief

11 March 2021, 19:14 GMT

18:38 GMT 11.03.2021

The Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza will receive the delivery of coronavirus vaccines via the COVAX mechanism in the next couple of weeks, United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Thursday.

“The COVAX facility is working to get vaccines, and we hope that that will get into the Palestinian territory in the next couple of weeks,” Haq said.

According to the allocation plan, COVAX will distribute 168,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 37,440 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In February, Gaza received a shipment of 20,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine donated by the United Arab Emirates. Earlier, 2,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia were also delivered to Gaza.

Last week, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree extending the state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak by 30 days starting on 4 March.

18:37 GMT 11.03.2021

Several airlines with canceled flights are shown on a departures board at JFK airport's Terminal 1, Friday, March 13, 2020, in New York. The coronavirus outbreak is affecting the airline industry hard. Travelers from most European countries to the United States are banned for the next 30 days after President Trump announced the ban earlier in the week. Returning passengers will be screened. The global travel industry is already reeling from falling bookings and canceled reservations as people try to avoid contracting and spreading the virus. - Sputnik International, 1920

New York to Lift Mandatory Quarantine for Domestic Travelers on 1 April, Governor Says

11 March 2021, 18:53 GMT

18:36 GMT 11.03.2021

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic declaration on Thursday said he was concerned to observe vaccine nationalism and hoarding of vaccines in rich nations.

“I am deeply concerned that many low-income countries have not yet received a single dose, while wealthier countries are on track to vaccinating their entire population,” Guterres said.

“We see many examples of vaccine nationalism and vaccine hoarding in wealthier countries — as well as continued side deals with manufacturers that undermine access for all,” he added.

The UN chief noted one full year into the pandemic, the vaccine rollout pointed to some light at the end of the tunnel. However, he said vaccines must be seen as a global public good, and the international community must unite to produce and deliver enough vaccines for all, at least doubling manufacturing capacity.

“That effort must start now. Only together can we end this pandemic and recover. Only together can we revive our economies. And then, together, we can all get back to the things we love,” Guterres added.

17:53 GMT 11.03.2021

17:29 GMT 11.03.2021

AstraZeneca believes its vaccine is well-tolerated, as it was confirmed in the third phase of clinical trials, the company's spokesperson told Sputnik, commenting on recent suspensions of its vaccine in Europe over safety concerns.

Norway, Denmark and, reportedly, Iceland have suspended vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca shots over potential link to blood clots.

"Patient safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase III clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated," the spokesperson said.

16:50 GMT 11.03.2021

16:43 GMT 11.03.2021

"The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel display mild symptoms, but are feeling well considering the circumstances," the Swedish Court said in a statement.

Princess Victoria, 40, is next in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, which is currently held by her father, King Karl Gustaf XIV.

16:42 GMT 11.03.2021

Experts at the Czech State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL) started an investigation into three death cases that were allegedly caused by inoculations with COVID-19 vaccines, the institute said on Thursday.

"SUKL is considering three death cases that may be connected with vaccines against COVID-19. The total number of similar suspicious deaths has reached 11. Moreover, SUKL has registered 1,506 cases of side effects from inoculations over the whole period of vaccination," the institute said in a statement published on its website, adding that most of the side effects included headache, fever, lassitude and pain at the injection area.

The institute stressed that all reports on deaths that occurred after vaccinations were first thoroughly investigated by the authorities and then submitted for consideration to the European Union's agencies.

SUKL noted that the deaths did not necessarily all result from inoculation, as a lot of citizens with severe pre-existing diseases received jabs.

The Czech Republic has confirmed 1,365,724 COVID-19 cases, with 22,624 deaths. Over the past 24 hours, the country registered 14,353 new infections. At least 948,144 citizens have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

16:17 GMT 11.03.2021

The United Nations announced on Thursday that it has launched a campaign dubbed “Only Together” in an effort to support equal access to coronavirus vaccines around the world.

“The campaign stresses the need for coordinated global action to ensure vaccines are accessible in all countries, starting with health-care workers and the most vulnerable," the United Nations said in a release.

The United Nations explained in the release that scaling up vaccine access can be reached by sharing excess vaccines, transferring technology, offering voluntary licensing or even waiving intellectual property rights.

Ten wealthy countries possess about 80 percent of all coronavirus vaccines and some of them are planning to vaccinate their entire populations in the next several months, but poorer countries depend on vaccines deliveries from the global vaccine equity mechanism COVAX, the release said.

Some 117 million people across the world have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and there have been 2.6 million virus-related deaths in 223 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

16:13 GMT 11.03.2021

16:10 GMT 11.03.2021

Germany's Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), is looking into Denmark's decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to side-effects fears, and has started to cooperate with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the issue, the institute's press service said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Denmark and Norway suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine over the potential link to blood clots.

"The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut keeps in touch with the Danish Medicines Agency and the EMA, and is studying the situation in Germany," the institute said.

The press service added that German's Robert Koch Institute has amended recommendations for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which earlier set the maximum age of recipients at 65 years, and will allow all citizens aged over 18 years to receive it.

"The standing committee on vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin ... has amended the recommendation and now is geared to authorization for all age groups from 18 years," the institute said.

A number of European states have suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution after reports on severe side-effects that were allegedly triggered by the vaccine. On Tuesday, the Latvian State Agency of Medicines specified that its citizens reported on side-effects after they received doses from ABV5300 batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The batch in question was distributed among 17 EU countries. Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg and Norway have now suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine either from the batch or in its entirety.

15:49 GMT 11.03.2021

The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the fourth coronavirus vaccine in the EU, this time from Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) pharmaceutical division, Janssen-Cilag, European Commissioner for health, Stella Kyriakides, said on Thursday.

✅ @EU_Commission has granted conditional marketing authorisation to the @JNJNews #COVID19 vaccine.

📍Four vaccines are now available for citizens in Europe and beyond. We will continue working with the company to ensure that deliveries will be as seamless as possible.
— Stella Kyriakides (@SKyriakidesEU) March 11, 2021

Now the manufacturer will be able to start supplying the drug to the European market.

Earlier in the day, the vaccine was approved for use by the European drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

15:27 GMT 11.03.2021

Hungary will request that the European Commission publish European vaccine contracts, Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff of the Hungarian prime minister said Thursday.

Last week, the Hungarian government published a Moderna vaccine delivery schedule in response to opposition claims that Budapest, which registered Russia's Sputnik V in January, could have bought more Western vaccines. According to the government, the vaccines would have arrived too late 2021 and the delay forced several other EU countries to scale down their orders.

"I will request in a letter that the @EU_Commission allow the vaccine contracts signed by the EC on behalf of Member States to be made public," Gulyas said, as quoted by Zoltan Kovacs, the government’s spokesperson, on Twitter.

Budapest plans to publish its own contracts on Russian and Chinese vaccine deliveries.

15:26 GMT 11.03.2021

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency urged Brits on Thursday not to shun the AstraZeneca vaccine after some EU countries restricted its use over safety concerns.

"People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so," Phil Bryan, the agency’s vaccines safety lead, was quoted as saying in a statement.

The drug regulator insisted there was no proof that reports of blood clots in Denmark, which halted the use of AstraZeneca for two weeks on Thursday, was caused by the UK-Swedish vaccine.

Bryan argued that blood clots were "not uncommon." Over 11 million doses of the vaccine have been administrated across the UK and the number of vaccinated people developing blood clots was not greater than would have occurred naturally.

Austria banned the use of the shot from a batch of 1 million doses after a vaccinated woman died of thrombosis days later. It was followed by Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Norway.

15:25 GMT 11.03.2021

The Naval Medical Research Center is contacting Marines who participated in a study of the long-term impact of COVID-19 victims, which ended in November 2020, to extend the research, the Defense Department said on Thursday.

“The study is a volunteer progression-based assessment to monitor possible health-related issues as a result of COVID-19 recovery, and the team has resumed evaluating the initial volunteers,” the Defense Department said in a press release.

The principal investigator, Navy Commander Andrew Letizia, said the extended study will help understand “how a Marine’s immune system would be able to fight off new and emerging SARS-CoV2 [coronavirus] strains,” as well as long-term effects of the disease.

The first initial study was conducted from May to November 2020, and it followed Marine recruits entering boot camp for six weeks following infection, the release said.

The Navy research team is currently contacting a scattered cohort of Marines who participated in the first study for the follow-up project named CHARM 2.0, short for COVID-19 Health Action Response for Marines, according to the release.

15:24 GMT 11.03.2021

The United Kingdom is certain that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe for use, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Thursday during his Oslo trip which coincided with Norway suspending the use of the Oxford jab.

Norway, Denmark and, reportedly, Iceland have suspended vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca shots over the potential link to blood clots.

"On AstraZeneca, I'm aware of the situation here [in Norway]. We've done all of the regulatory tests in the UK, we're very confident that it's safe to take the vaccine, but we also know, and we had this throughout the trials, that you have to follow the process in each country on safety, and we obviously respect the Norwegian approach," Raab said at a press briefing alongside Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide.

15:22 GMT 11.03.2021

15:14 GMT 11.03.2021

ABC News has unveiled its infographic of the approved coronavirus vaccines, which shows that Russia's Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute has been the only one to have the "full approval granted" status.

14:56 GMT 11.03.2021

The Italian Health Ministry and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) have made significant amendments to the national vaccination plan that has required all regions to stick to its provisions and introduced five new priority groups, media reported on Thursday.

According to the ANSA news agency, before the amendments were made, regions had provided different social groups with prioritized access at their discretion, with the southern city of Palermo having attached lawyers to priority groups. According to the media reports, a new version of the plan envisages that all Italian regions should strictly adhere to the health ministry's recommendations concerning the citizens that must receive doses first.

While, the amended plan still focuses on the vaccine distribution among elderly citizens, health care workers, patients and employees at care homes, it has designated five new priority groups, including disabled persons and people with severe diseases, news outlets said.

According to the reports, the plan also stipulates that the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is to be delivered 10-15 days after the first jab, while the Pfizer and Moderna shots will still be injected at a 21-day interval.

Italy hopes to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population and achieve herd immunity by the fall. Over 1.8 million Italians have already received both coronavirus shots, according to the AIFA.

The country has confirmed over 3 million COVID-19 cases, with just under 100,000 deaths so far since the beginning of the pandemic. Over the last 30 days, Italy registered 431,366 new infections, according to the Italian National Institute of Health.

14:29 GMT 11.03.2021

Spain has so far recorded no cases of people developing blood clots after being administered an AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine shot, Health Minister Carolina Darias said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Austria suspended the use of the shots from a batch of 1 million after a woman died from thrombosis after getting one and another one was hospitalized with pulmonary embolism. The EU drug regulator subsequently said there was no proof that the vaccine was to blame.

"Spain has recorded no cases of blood clots occurring [in vaccinated people]," Darias told La Sexta news channel, adding there was "no proved correlation between the vaccine and thrombosis."

The batch in question was distributed among 17 EU countries. Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg and Norway have now suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine either from the batch or in its entirety as a precaution.

14:03 GMT 11.03.2021

Empty vials of the second dose of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine are pictured at the San Martin hospital, in La Plata, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina January 21, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920

Namibia Becomes 50th Country to Approve Russian Coronavirus Vaccine Sputnik V

11 March 2021, 14:02 GMT

13:22 GMT 11.03.2021

13:10 GMT 11.03.2021

France will soften conditions for entry and exit from a number of countries outside the European Union, including Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Singapore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.

"Under the decree, which will be published on Friday, 12 March, there will no longer be any need to substantiate one's travel to Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the UK and Singapore and arrival from these countries with some valid reason, in light of the broad spreading of the UK [coronavirus] strain in France and the special sanitary situation in these countries," the ministry said in a communique.

12:31 GMT 11.03.2021

12:15 GMT 11.03.2021

Security personnel gather near the entrance to the Wuhan Institute of Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team in Wuhan in China's Hubei province on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920

China to Continue to Cooperate With WHO to Establish Origin of COVID-19

11 March 2021, 12:45 GMT

11:02 GMT 11.03.2021

US company Vir Biotechnology (Vir) and UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on Thursday that their coronavirus drug demonstrated a significant reduction in hospitalization and death among patients during an early treatment.

According to the companies, an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) recommended cutting short the Phase 3 trial of their monoclonal-antibody drug, called VIR-7831, due to overwhelmingly positive results.

"The IDMC recommendation was based on an interim analysis of data from 583 patients enrolled in the COMET-ICE trial, which demonstrated an 85% (p=0.002) reduction in hospitalization or death in patients receiving VIR-7831 as monotherapy compared to placebo, the primary endpoint of the trial. VIR-7831 was well tolerated," the companies said in a statement.

The statement adds that the drug remains effective against various coronavirus strains, including the UK, South African and Brazilian variants.

"These exciting data with a single antibody against a conserved epitope bring us one step closer to delivering an effective new solution to patients around the globe. The dual-action design of VIR-7831 to both block viral entry into healthy cells and clear infected cells, as well as its high barrier to resistance, are key distinguishing characteristics," Vir CEO George Scangos said.

Now Vir and GSK are planning to apply for the emergency use authorization with the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as similar authorizations in other countries.

10:48 GMT 11.03.2021

The delivery of almost 14.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 22 African countries through the COVAX Facility, the global vaccine distribution initiative, is "great news," the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region Director, Matshidiso Moeti, said Thursday.

"COVAX shipments continue at a rapid pace, and as of yesterday, almost 14.8 million doses have been delivered to 22 African countries. This is great news. Nineteen African countries have now started vaccination campaigns, and through COVAX, more than 518,000 doses have been administered," Moeti told a WHO Regional Office for Africa press briefing.

Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire on 1 March became the first countries to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines received through the COVAX scheme, and nations such as Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also received their first shipments through the initiative.

The WHO regional director confirmed that the number of new cases reported weekly on the African continent has plateaued since mid-February.

"The continent has experienced a plateau over the past three weeks at around 70,000 new cases, and there is an upward trend in some countries such as Cameroon and Algeria," Moeti added.

On Wednesday, the WHO African Region confirmed that more than 3.98 million positive tests for COVID-19 have been registered on the continent since the start of the pandemic, and Africa's death toll exceeds 106,000.

More than 1.5 million of the cases reported on the continent have been registered in South Africa.

09:28 GMT 11.03.2021

Denmark has temporary stopped usage of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after several cases emerged of blood clots among those who'd been vaccinated, the Danish health authority said.

08:27 GMT 11.03.2021

Medical researchers in Belarus have detected first several cases of a highly infectious variant of COVID-19 initially identified in the United Kingdom, the Belarusian Health Ministry said on Thursday.

"First several cases of UK COVID-19 variant have been detected in Belarus. This was confirmed by research by specialists from the Republican Research and Practical Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology," the ministry wrote on Telegram.

08:01 GMT 11.03.2021

Russia registered 9,270 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, up from 9,079 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,360,823, the coronavirus response centre said on Thursday.

"Over the past day, 9,270 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 1,060 cases (11.4 percent) without clinical symptoms," the centre said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 4,360,823, with the rate of increase at 0.21 percent.

Moscow confirmed 1,281 new coronavirus cases over the given period, up from 1,116 the day before. The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 961 new cases, up from 959 the day before, and the Nizhny Novgorod Region with 376 new cases, down from 378 on Wednesday.

The response centre reported 459 COVID-19 fatalities, down from 466 the day before, raising the country's death toll to 90,734.

Total recoveries increased by 14,006 over the given period, up from 13,350 the day before, and reached 3,959,533.

07:49 GMT 11.03.2021

The European Union has delivered 34 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to dozens of third countries in recent weeks despite member states facing supply shortages, which considerably slowed down vaccination pace within the bloc compared to the US, the UK and Israel, The New York Times newspaper has revealed, citing internal documents.

The European bloc has recently been subject to harsh criticism over its "vaccine nationalism" and protectionism, with tensions intensifying last week, when Italy, in coordination with the EU, blocked a shipment of 250,000 coronavirus shots bound for Australia.

The internal documents, including export numbers, however, proved the opposite, showing that the EU has been far from vaccine protectionism, the newspaper reported, adding that if made public, that news would have outraged Europeans who are still waiting for vaccines.

According to the newspaper, whether to reveal how many vaccine doses the bloc exported to third countries has been hotly discussed in the corridors of the European Commission. Several senior EU officials supported the idea, saying unveiling the EU's contribution to the global fight against the pandemic would improve Europe's image in the international arena after last week's spar over vaccine shipments to Australia.

The export data shows that the UK was the biggest importers of EU-produced vaccine doses, as it received nine million out of these 34 million doses over the past month. It was followed by Canada (four million doses) and Mexico (3.1 million doses), The New York Times added.

06:50 GMT 11.03.2021

Mexico has vaccinated more than a third of the population in country's rural settlements against the coronavirus disease, with major cities joining the vaccination drive as well, the Secretariat of Health has said.

"We have made significant progress in vaccinating the rural population. We have covered a significant part, approximately 30 to 40 percent, of rural settlements where senior citizens reside, and we are starting to enter into major cities, including the big ones - state capitals," Deputy Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez said during a press conference broadcast on YouTube.

The country started vaccinating its senior population in mid-February, after receiving AstraZeneca, CoronaVac and Sputnik V vaccines and has already inoculated 2.05 million people in that category.

Mexico has also vaccinated 812,000 medics with the Pfizer vaccine since 24 December, with 589,000 receiving required two shots.

06:46 GMT 11.03.2021

Japan needs to conduct its own clinical trials before using Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, but does not plan on doing so in a foreseeable future, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Thursday.

Russian Ambassador to Tokyo Mikhail Galuzin on Wednesday told journalists that the Russian government was offering to export Sputnik V to Japan.

"Actually, to promote a developed vaccine against the novel coronavirus, clinical trials within Japan are required," Kato told reporters.

The official added that such trials were not underway and there was no indication they would take place.

"I admit, however, that the health ministry and the Russian embassy are exchanging information," Kato stated.

Japan started its vaccination campaign on 17 February, using the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers AstraZeneca and Moderna are also seeking government approval to use their vaccines for inoculation in the country.

Meanwhile, Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda has started clinical trials of a vaccine by US company Novavax.

06:35 GMT 11.03.2021

South Korea has authorized AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for citizens aged 65 and over, the decision is based on the UK research, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The vaccine was previously approved for South Korean citizens aged between 18 and 65. A decision on senior citizens vaccination was due to be made in the beginning of April, when AstraZeneca was expected to provide additional data on the clinical trials involving senior people. However, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun asked the health authorities to study the possibility to allow vaccination of those aged 65+ earlier, citing experience of other nations.

"The expert panel on vaccination recommended using AstraZeneca vaccine in people aged 65 and over, based on results of the research conducted in the United Kingdom and Scotland, as it was proven effective in preventing hospitalizations and severe symptoms," KDCA said in a statement.

In line with KDCA recommendations, South Korea should inoculate around 376,000 senior patients and staffers in nursing homes across the country by the end of March.

South Korea launched its phased vaccination campaign in late February. Healthcare staff and patients in nursing homes receive the AstraZaneca vaccine, while doctors specializing in coronavirus patients get the Pfizer vaccine. Immunization of support healthcare staffers and residents aged 65+ will start in the second quarter of the year, while most of the other citizens will be inoculated in the third quarter.

According to KDCA, health authorities plan to allow inoculation for those whose work envisions regular foreign travel but does not imply mandatory quarantine starting the second quarter of the year. These include flight attendants.

05:53 GMT 11.03.2021

El Salvador will welcome its first coronavirus vaccine shipment from the World Health Organization-led COVAX international distribution initiative on Thursday, President Nayib Bukele has said.

The country started vaccinating frontline medical workers on 17 February after receiving 20,000 Covishield vaccine doses from India.

"Tomorrow, another vaccine batch will arrive! This time, thanks to the COVAX system. This batch consists of 33,600 AstraZeneca vaccine doses that will be used to vaccinate our second line of healthcare (medical workers who do not directly look after COVID-19 patients)," Bukele tweeted.

The Salvadoran Public Health Ministry plans to inoculate 4.5 million of the country's citizens.

05:07 GMT 11.03.2021

New restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, which relate to education, trade, catering, sports, cultural and public events, will take effect in Estonia on Thursday, the republic's government said.

The restrictions aim to reduce contacts between people to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country. They will be valid for at least one month - from 11 March to 11 April.

Distance learning will be used for all students, the government recommends not to take children to kindergartens.

05:02 GMT 11.03.2021

India has confirmed 22,854 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 11,285,561, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday.

The death toll from the disease has reached 158,189 people, with 126 new fatalities being recorded over the past day. More than 10.93 million people have recovered in India since the start of the outbreak.

India comes second in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States, with more than 29.15 million COVID-19 patients.

04:38 GMT 11.03.2021

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 41,488 cases of infection with the UK coronavirus strain had been recorded in the country.

"To date, there have been 41,488 cases of the British strain in 76 provinces, and 61 cases of the South African strain in 9 provinces," Koca wrote on Twitter.

He also reported on the registration of isolated cases of the New York and Brazilian strains.