(Reuters) – The global vaccine alliance Gavi is proposing to revamp distribution rules after COVAX allotted more doses to Britain than to Botswana, which is among other poorer nations that have fledgling vaccination drives at best.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news
EUROPE
* The world’s poorest countries have said they may struggle to meet visa requirements and cover all COVID-19 quarantine costs for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, raising concerns that some might not be able to attend in person.
* The European Union’s drug regulator said it was evaluating whether a booster dose of Moderna’s vaccine could be given at least six months after the second shot of the two-dose course in people over 12 years of age.
* The European Commission has proposed extending the period of its scheme for monitoring and potentially limiting exports of vaccines from the bloc, a spokesperson said.
AMERICAS
* U.S. President Joe Biden will receive a COVID-19 booster shot on Monday, the White House said, days after his administration green-lighted a third Pfizer shot in certain populations.
* The New York governor is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages.
* Pedro Guimaraes, a member of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s delegation to the United Nations, has tested positive for COVID-19, the CEO of state lender Caixa Economica Federal said on Sunday.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Japan plans to lift its COVID-19 state of emergency, which covers 19 prefectures, in all of the regions at the end of September, broadcaster NHK reported.
* Thailand’s COVID-19 task force approved a plan to procure a combined 3.35 mln doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines, a spokesperson said, as the country prepares to waive a quarantine requirement for vaccinated visitors.
* More than a thousand robots are set to join the delivery personnel ranks of Chinese behemoths Alibaba, Meituan and JD.com over the next year as the pandemic fuels demand for contactless services.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein has contracted coronavirus and his parents King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who tested negative, will protectively self-isolate for five days, the palace said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Pfizer said it has started a large study testing its investigational oral antiviral drug for the prevention of COVID-19 infection among those who have been exposed to the virus.
* Japan has approved GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology’s Sotrovimab as an antibody treatment for coronavirus, the country’s health minister said.
* A small-scale clinical study of the combined use of the AstraZeneca and Sputnik Light vaccines has shown strong antibody growth in a majority of the study’s participants, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said.
* The World Health Organization is seeking to revive its stalled inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 with a new team, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* U.S. government borrowing costs advanced for a sixth week on Monday on bets that higher interest rates were on the way and global energy shares rose as crude oil prices hit three-year highs of almost $80 a barrel. [MKTS/GLOB]
* The United Nations Development Programme has launched an initiative to help governments and the private sector in developing countries provide insurance for crises such as pandemics and natural catastrophes.
* Britain’s fuel retail sector, still recovering from COVID-19, is facing further disruption after a shortage of truck drivers hit supplies to gas stations and led to panic buying.
* The Bank of Japan will continue to focus on cushioning the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.
(Compiled by Sarah Morland and Juliette Portala; Editing by William Maclean)
