(Reuters) – Officials in several Australian states tightened curbs on movement and pushed for vaccinations to limit flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the share of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant more than doubled in Germany within a week.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* Poland is considering making vaccination obligatory for those most at risk from COVID-19, such as health service workers, the health minister said, as the country seeks to counter resistance among those not yet inoculated.
* Ireland’s government is to decide on Tuesday whether to permit only those who are fully vaccinated to eat and drink inside bars and restaurants.
* The share of COVID-19 cases caused by the more infectious Delta variant more than doubled in Germany within a week and is likely to gain more traction over other variants, a senior health official said.
* Greece will offer its young people a 150 euro ($180) cash card and a free month of phone data to get their first COVID-19 shot, in a government drive to boost vaccination rates in the build-up to the holidays.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India’s western state of Maharashtra is training thousands of health workers in how to care for children afflicted with COVID-19 as a first line of defence against surges involving new variants, health officials and experts said.
* China’s southern metropolis Guangzhou has cut the prices of natural gas and water for non-residential consumers to help companies amid a recent flare-up of the coronavirus.
* Indonesia’s government will wait until COVID-19 cases fall significantly before opening Bali to foreign tourists, the country’s tourism minister said.
* Vietnam’s health ministry said it had approved the Moderna vaccine for emergency use.
AMERICAS
* The United States said it will donate one million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to Paraguay.
* Colombia said it will receive a U.S. donation of 2.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* COVID-19 infections in Africa will likely exceed previous peaks within days, underscoring an urgent need to accelerate vaccine supplies and financing to the region, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
* Tanzania will spend $470 million buying vaccines and supporting economic sectors hit hard by the coronavirus, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Sanofi will invest about 400 million euros ($476.4 million) in research and development of next-generation vaccines using mRNA technologies, which proved their efficiency in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
* Zuellig Pharma, Moderna’s supply partner for COVID-19 vaccines in Southeast Asia, said regional orders for the mRNA vaccine were almost fully booked for this year, highlighting procurement challenges for countries slow off the mark.
* Chugai Pharmaceutical said it applied for regulatory approval in Japan of an antibody treatment for COVID-19.
* A third shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produces a strong immune response, researchers said, adding there was not yet evidence that such shots were needed, especially given shortages in some countries.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global shares inched back from record highs on Tuesday on concerns about new coronavirus outbreaks in Asia undercutting an economic recovery, while investors remained on edge over the United States’ exit from accommodative policy. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Oil prices dropped for a second day on Tuesday on worries about slower fuel demand growth as outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus sparked new mobility restrictions around the world.
(Compiled by Veronica Snoj and Amy Caren Daniel; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
