Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

A woman receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine on 16 August, 2021 in Montevideo, as Uruguay launches its campaign to give booster shots to people fully vaccinated with the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by China's Sinovac firm. (AFP Photo)

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

US Booster Shots

The United States (US) government will announce that Americans should get booster shots for coronavirus vaccines eight months after their last shot, part of a campaign that could begin as early as mid-September, according to US media.

Moderna Shots For UK Youth

Britain's medicines watchdog says it has approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, after previously giving the green light to Pfizer.

NZ Snap Lockdown

New Zealand moves into a three-day lockdown after identifying a single case of locally transmitted COVID-19 suspected to be the Delta variant, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Japan Prolongs Emergency

Japan's government says it will expand a virus state of emergency to seven new regions as it battles a record wave of infections a week before the Paralympic Games.

Vaccine Hesitancy

White adults in South Africa are more hesitant towards coronavirus vaccination than their black compatriots, with just around half of white adults willing to take vaccine shots, compared to 75 percent of black adults, a new study reveals.

Malaysian Crisis

Malaysia's king Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah urges rival politicians to unite to battle a worsening coronavirus outbreak as the hunt begins for a new prime minister following Muhyiddin Yassin's resignation Monday.

Uruguayan Cocktail

Uruguay starts giving booster shots, using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, to people who have generally received their first two doses with China's CoronaVac, a combination few countries have yet tried, as it seeks to ward off the Delta variant.

Half Of Swiss Fully Jabbed

More than half of the Swiss population has now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, statistics show, although immunisation rates are slowing even as cases and hospitalisations rise.

4.3 Million Dead 

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,370,427 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 622,321 deaths, followed by Brazil with 569,492, India with 432,079, Mexico 248,652 and Peru 197,487. – AFP