Karl Lauterbach, new Federal Minister of Health, speaks at the plenary session in the German Bundestag in Berlin, Germany on Dec 10, 2021. (BERND VON JUTRCZENKA / DPA VIA AP)
GENEVA / BRUSSELS / JOHANNESBURG / BRASILIA / VALLETTA / VIENNA / PARIS / LILONGWE / LONDON / RABAT / DUBLIN / HAVANA / BERLIN / BUDAPEST – German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended restrictions on the unvaccinated and mandatory COVID-19 jabs for medical and nursing staff due to be passed by parliament later on Friday.
"It's absolutely unacceptable that in establishments where people live, who put their trust in us to protect them, that people are unnecessarily dying because unvaccinated work there," said Lauterbach to the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
Germany, in the grip of a fourth wave of infections, has a relatively low rate of vaccination compared with the rest of Europe. Some 69.4 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, while at least 21.3 percent have received a booster shot, according to official numbers.
The Robert Koch Institute infectious disease body reported 61,288 new infections from the coronavirus and 484 more COVID-related deaths on Friday.
Beyond compulsory vaccinations for certain professions from mid-March, the new legislation also allows for Germany's 16 federal states to close bars and restaurants due to high infection rates.
A survey by broadcaster ZDF found that more than three quarters of Germans were in favour of severe restrictions on the unvaccinated, while 21 percent did not think it was the right course.
Nearly 70 percent were in favour of making vaccines mandatory, a step that is supported by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and could be in practice by end-February.
A child looks at her band aid after receiving the vaccination against the COVID-19 virus in Tulln, a city close from Vienna, Austria on Dec 1, 2021. (LISA LEUTNER / AP)
Austria
Austria's conservative-led government on Thursday gave details of its plan to make coronavirus vaccines compulsory, saying it will apply to people 14 and over and holdouts face fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,071) every three months.
Roughly 68 percent of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.
As infections set records three weeks ago, the government announced a fourth national lockdown and said it would make vaccinations compulsory for all, the first European Union country to do so.
"We do not want to punish people who are not vaccinated. We want to win them over and convince them to get vaccinated," the minister for constitutional affairs, Karoline Edtstadler, told a news conference with Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein.
The vaccine mandate, which must be approved by parliament, is due to start in February and last through January 2024. Two opposition parties support it, suggesting it will pass easily.
There will be quarterly vaccination deadlines, Mueckstein said, adding that the authorities will check a central vaccination register to see if members of the public are in it.
A commuter wears a protective face mask in a subway station, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Dec 1, 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANDRE PENNER / AP)
Brazil
Brazil has had 9,278 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 206 deaths from COVID-19, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The South American country has now registered 22,177,059 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 616,457, according to ministry data, in the world's second-deadliest outbreak outside the United States.
With 85 percent of adults now fully vaccinated, the rolling 14-day average of COVID-19 deaths has fallen to 201 per day, compared to the toll of almost 3,000 a day at the peak of the pandemic in April.
Britain
A further 249 cases of the Omicron COVID variant have been reported in Britain, taking the total to 817, British health authorities said Thursday.
The latest daily figure comes after 131 new cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed on Wednesday.
At a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday evening, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the variant's doubling rate could be between two to three days, highlighting just how infectious the new strain is.
Children attend a ceremony to mark the resuming of the 2020-2021 school year at the educational centre Ciudad Escolar Libertad in Havana, on Nov 15, 2021. (Yamil LAGE / AFP)
Cuba
Cuba reported no COVID-19 deaths for the second consecutive day, along with 81 new cases of infection in the past 24 hours, raising its total caseload to 963,428 and its pandemic death toll to 8,311, the Ministry of Public Health said on Thursday.
In its daily report, the ministry said 401 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, the lowest figure in recent months.
A picture taken on June 16, 2021 in Brussels shows a passport behind a mobile phone whose screen bears a EU Digital COVID-19 certificate. The European health certificate, which Belgium began using on June 16, 2021, will become operational across the EU on July 1, 2021. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
European Union
European Union countries are expected to agree to limit to nine months the duration of COVID-19 certificates for travel around the bloc, three EU sources told Reuters, but some states are concerned that such a limit could hinder travel.
Separately, the EU executive proposed at an internal meeting with health experts from member states on Thursday to impose PCR tests on all incoming travellers from outside the bloc, two of the sources said, a step prompted by a lack of firm information so far on the risks posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The EU introduced COVID-19 passes in July to facilitate travel for people who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus, have recovered from the disease or have a negative PCR test.
As evidence increased about the waning protection from vaccines, in November the European Commission proposed a nine-month validity limit for COVID-19 passes from the time a person has received two doses (or one in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).
One EU official and one EU diplomat said EU governments were expected to reach a consensus on the nine-month limit as early as Friday after a preliminary discussion on Thursday, although one said talks could stretch into next week.
A third diplomat said there was general support for the nine-month limit, but some countries, especially in eastern Europe, were concerned about this denting the travel industry and free movement of people.
France
French Health Minister Olivier Veran announced Thursday that pharmacies will be authorized to open on Sundays in December and January in order to accelerate the COVID-19 booster dose campaign.
"To simplify and amplify the booster dose campaign, I am signing a decree which will authorize and encourage pharmacists who can and wish to from now on to open every Sunday without limitation in the months of December and January," he told French television France 2.
France counts 33 pharmacies for every 100,000 inhabitants. "Pharmacists are essential pillars of this booster vaccination campaign," he said.
Germany
Germany’s vaccine authority advised COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages five to 11 who have a pre-existing condition or are in regular contact with people who are at a higher risk.
Children in the age group who aren’t at heightened risk can get shots if the parents want them to.
Hungary
The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have peaked in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public radio on Friday.
He added that Hungary would start inoculating 5-11-year-old children against COVID-19 next Wednesday.
Parents and their children queue in rain outside the Citywest vaccination center, in Dublin on Aug 14, 2021. (DAMIEN STORAN / PA VIA AP)
Ireland
Five more cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in Ireland, the Irish Department of Health said on Thursday.
This brings the total number of Omicron cases in the country to six.
Ireland reported its first case of the Omicron variant at the start of December. The variant is associated with travel to one of the seven southern African countries which have been declared by the Irish government as high-risk.
Tony Holohan, chief medical officer with the Department of Health, indicated that more cases of the Omicron variant could soon be confirmed in Ireland.
Malawi
Health authorities in Malawi Thursday disclosed that three cases of Omicron variant have been confirmed in the country and that the government has tightened measures at all points of entry into the country.
"Let me inform the nation that through the samples that we have collected from 9th November to 2nd December for genomic sequencing, as a country, we have isolated three cases of Omicron variant from the 12 samples analyzed. This is to confirm that we now have Omicron in our country," said Minister of Health, Khumbize Chiponda, at a press briefing held at her offices in the capital city Lilongwe.
She said following the development, the ministry has intensified the screening of travelers at all points of entry to prevent the importation of COVID-19 cases.
Malta
Malta will return to mandatory mask-wearing in outdoor and indoor spaces as from Saturday, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday.
The measure is being taken as a precaution to prevent any major increase in COVID-19 cases, although the Mediterranean island has not yet detected cases of the recently discovered Omicron variant.
"It has been shown that masks, as well as booster doses, are effective to ward off the virus, including the new Omicron variant," the minister told media.
He added that the administration of booster doses was being brought forward and people will be eligible for the vaccine four months after having had their second jab, instead of six months, as was the case to date.
Children aged 5 to 11 will start getting their own vaccine from Tuesday.
Malta had 81 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with 26 patients needing hospitalization.
Fearne said the situation was well under control and the government did not intend to introduce further restrictive measures, as long as everyone acted responsibly.
Malta has had one of the highest vaccination take-ups in the European Union, with well over 90 percent of the adult population vaccinated.
A nurse applies a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 during the first day of the application of the third dose to people over 60 years-old at the Centro de Estudios Superiores Navales (CENCIS) in Mexico City, on Dec 7, 2021. (PEDRO PARDO / AFP)
Mexico
Mexico’s stockpile of unused vaccine surpassed 50 million doses Thursday, according to Health Ministry data, as the country’s vaccination campaign lags regional peers.
Mexico was the first Latin American nation to deliver a jab of vaccine against the coronavirus last December and the daily rate of doses administered peaked at more than 1.5 million in late July.
The number of doses delivered daily has plunged since then and hasn’t hit 500,000 in the last seven days, according to the Health Ministry.
Mexico will begin giving booster shots of AstraZeneca to people age 60 and older, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Tuesday.
While the US Centers for Disease Control has expanded COVID-19 booster recommendations to include adolescents aged 16 and 17, Lopez-Gatell has downplayed the need for such shots for the general population, saying they’re not needed for those who are otherwise healthy without a compromised immune system.
Mexico has also lagged other countries in administering vaccine doses to children. The country started giving jabs to those aged 15 to 17 in mid-November and has challenged court orders to vaccinate children older than 12.
A Moroccan health worker prepares of the Pfizer-BioNTech at a COVID-19 vaccination centre, in the city of Sale, on Oct 5, 2021.
(FADEL SENNA / AFP)
Morocco
Morocco on Thursday extended the suspension of all regular international passenger flights, over concerns about the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the official news agency MAP reported.
The two-week suspension of international passenger flights, which came into force on Nov. 29, will be extended until further notice, the report said.
This suspension is part of the measures taken to preserve the achievements made by Morocco in fighting the pandemic and protect the health of its citizens, the report added.
The Moroccan Ministry of Health reported 146 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 951,092.
People wait to be tested for 'COVID-19 at a facility in Soweto, South Africa, on Dec 2, 2021. (DENIS FARRELL / AP)
South Africa
South Africa will offer booster doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines as the Omicron coronavirus variant drives daily infections towards record highs.
Pfizer boosters will be available to people six months after they receive their second dose, with the first people becoming eligible late this month, the South Africa health department's deputy-director general, Nicholas Crisp, told a news conference.
J&J boosters, already available to health workers in a research study, will be rolled out to the general population soon, he added.
Meanwhile, the country is seeing a “disconnect” between the number of infections and hospital admissions in the current COVID-19 infection wave, according to Michelle Groome, the head of health surveillance for the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
As the Omicron variant has taken hold there has been a slight increase in deaths, she said on an online press conference on Friday.
This differs from earlier waves when the number of infections and hospital admissions rose in tandem, she said.
This time admissions are muted. Infection rates are higher in age groups that have lower vaccination rates, she said.
Switzerland
The Swiss government is considering tightening measures to exclude the unvaccinated from restaurants and other areas of public life such as swimming pools and museums, in an effort to curb new infections and hospitalizations, according to local daily Tages Anzeiger.
The so-called 2G rule would mean only vaccinated or people who have recovered from COVID-19 are permitted to enter public premises, according to the paper. A lockdown of two to three weeks is also being considered, according to the paper.
Food and Drug Administration building is shown Thursday, Dec 10, 2020 in Silver Spring, Md. (MANUEL BALCE CENETA / AP)
United States
US regulators on Thursday expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to 16- and 17-year-olds, as public health officials have urged Americans to get a third shot due to concerns about the new Omicron variant of the virus.
The US Food and Drug Administration said it amended its emergency use authorization of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's vaccine to allow youths aged 16-17 to receive a third shot at least six months after their second vaccine dose.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also signed off on the shots.
"Although we don’t have all the answers on the Omicron variant, initial data suggests that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen the protection against Omicron and other variants," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. She strongly encouraged all eligible 16- and 17-year olds to get the shots.
