Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
Anti-Vaxx Clashes
Anti-vaccination protesters clash with police in London as some try to storm the offices of the United Kingdom (UK) regulator that approves vaccines, with police saying four officers were hurt. The latest protest, comprising dozens of demonstrators who massed at several sites through the afternoon, comes after anti-vaxxers previously targeted UK television broadcasters' offices.
A livestream of the demonstration showed protesters trying to push past a police cordon to enter the office of the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency), which was the world's first regulator to approve a coronavirus vaccine for public rollout in December last year.
EU And AstraZeneca Settle Dispute
The European Union (EU) and UK-based drugs giant AstraZeneca announce that they have reached a settlement in a dispute over a shortfall in vaccine deliveries. The European Commission (EC) went to court after the firm failed to deliver all of a promised 300 million doses by June 2021, but AstraZeneca will now have until the end of March next year to make up the number.
The agreement ends the legal battle and AstraZeneca will not face any fines or penalty payments –unless it falls short of its new target dates.
Delta In Niger
The first cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 have been recorded in Niger, which until now has been relatively spared in the pandemic. Genetic sequencing found six cases of Delta "among the last cases that occurred in August," Health Minister Illiassou Mainassara told AFP.
All the patients "were treated and recovered," he said, but added "serious forms of COVID-19 are more and more widespread." The six cases were in the capital Niamey, the ministry's press office said, adding that efforts to track and trace contacts of the patients were underway.
Air Quality Blip
Pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions caused dramatic but short-lived improvements in air quality and drops in pollution, the United Nations (UN) says. A new report from the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) found that COVID-19 restrictions last year temporarily improved air quality in a number of places, especially in urban areas.
But they also spurred an increase in some pollutants that were both hazardous to health and had an unclear impact on climate change. "COVID-19 proved to be an unplanned air-quality experiment," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
"It did lead to temporary localised improvements," he said.
Singapore Booster Shots
Singapore will start giving coronavirus vaccine booster shots to the elderly and those with weak immune systems as cases rise despite high inoculation rates. The city-state joins a number of countries worldwide in giving a third jab to the most vulnerable groups, as it faces a new outbreak driven by the Delta variant.
The health ministry said an expert committee had recommended the third dose for people aged 60 and above and those with weak immune systems.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung described the decision as a "pre-emptive step before antibodies wane further".
US Hiring Slumps
The United States (US) added far fewer jobs than expected in August as businesses grappled with the Delta wave of COVID-19. Employment rose only 235,000 last month, according to Labor Department data released Friday, and while the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 5.2 percent, the report was nowhere near the jobs gains seen in recent months, which have topped one million.
In some ways, the lacklustre hiring told a familiar tale, with the world's largest COVID-19 outbreak once again hurting the labour market and underscoring that it is unlikely to make much improvement if infections remain high.
No Shots For 12-15s Advice
The UK government's independent advisory body on vaccines says it will not recommend jabbing all 12- to 15-year-olds against coronavirus, arguing the benefits were "too small". The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a panel of experts which advises ministers, has been weighing the issue after numerous other countries began giving the jabs to young teens.
It has previously recommended giving approved COVID-19 vaccines to all 16- and 17-year-olds but only to 12- to 15-year-olds who have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus.
Malaysian Holiday Island To Reopen
The island of Langkawi will this month become the first Malaysian holiday hotspot to reopen to domestic travellers, kicking off efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered tourism industry. The usually lucrative sector has been hit hard by months-long restrictions on local travel and international border closures as the country battles its worst COVID-19 wave.
But curbs are slowly being eased, and Langkawi has been chosen for a pilot project as the industry seeks to get back on its feet. From 16 September, hotels and businesses such as theme parks will reopen, and beach activities will be allowed again, the tourism ministry said. The move will boost "tourism industry players who have been impacted by the sector's closure", the ministry said in a statement.
More Than 4.5 Million Dead
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,539,397 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 643,669 deaths, followed by Brazil with 581,914, India with 439,895, Mexico 261,496 and Peru 198,364.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were the US with 1,549, followed by Mexico with 993 and Russia with 799. – AFP