World News – AU – The Latest: WHO: Immunization Program Will Receive 2 Billion Doses

GENEVA – World Health Organization head says his program aims to help get COVID-19 vaccines to all countries in need, rich or poor, has gained access to nearly 2 billion doses of multiple vaccine candidates.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the agreements mean that around 190 countries and economies participating in the COVAX program will have access to vaccines in the first half of next year. ”

The agreements bring together pharmaceutical manufacturers including AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and the Serum Institute of India.

Says the message is, “Vaccines will complement, not replace, existing effective tools to suppress transmission and save lives. ”

BERLIN – The federal government says the country is facing difficult months despite the impending introduction of a coronavirus vaccine.

Official numbers from Friday show 33. 777 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus and 813 additional deaths last day.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says that the expected regulatory approval for a vaccine “gives us hope, of course, but obviously it won’t solve the problem. ”

Germany had contained the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic before a recent surge. There was 1. 4 million confirmed cases (12th highest in the world) and more than 25. 000 confirmed deaths (Jan.. ) according to a review by Johns Hopkins University.

BERN – The Swiss government is ordering the closure of restaurants, bars, cultural venues and sports facilities next week due to increasing cases of coronavirus.

The government says the closings, which begin Tuesday, are necessary as « hospitals and healthcare workers have been under extreme pressure for weeks and the festive season increases the risk of cases rising even faster. ». ”

The 7-day average of the daily new cases in Switzerland in the last two weeks is 43 cases per 100. 000 people in December. 3 to 50 on Thursday.

The government limits the number of people who can be in stores that must close after 7 p.m.. m. and on Sundays and public holidays.

The federal government left it to the 26 cantons of Switzerland to decide whether the ski facilities should be closed. Your activity has raised concerns in some of Switzerland’s neighboring countries.

The announcement on Friday came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive. Both heads of state and government attended an EU summit in Brussels last week.

The prime minister’s office says Matovic was tested on Thursday and canceled all of his events. Members of Matovic’s coalition government are in quarantine after chairing the government’s final meeting on Wednesday.

Slovakia imposed a 24-hour curfew on Saturday to respond to the recent surge in coronavirus infections, which hit a record 3 on Thursday. Reached 991 cases.

The government has urged people to isolate or get tested for at least seven days before seeing relatives over the Christmas vacation.

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence is being vaccinated against the coronavirus during an event at the White House to convince skeptical Americans that the vaccines are safe.

Pence’s wife Karen and surgeon general Jerome Adams also received the vaccine on Friday. The pandemic occurs in the tenth month and has more than 310 in the United States. 000 people killed.

Pence rolled up his sleeve, received the shot, and told the medical staff, « This is great. Well done. ”

He says that as hospital stays increase, the nation still has a long way to go to get out of the pandemic. He says the second vaccine made by Moderna is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration today.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will also be publicly vaccinated. It is unclear when President Donald Trump will receive the shot.

Since losing the election, Trump has been relatively quiet about the introduction of the vaccines, despite his advocacy of overseeing the vaccine’s rapid development and use. Pence was at a vaccine manufacturing facility earlier this week.

WASHINGTON – Minister of Health and Human Services Alex Azar says Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine shipments will begin this weekend if the FDA approves the emergency on Friday.

« Trucks are rolling, planes are flying this weekend, 5. 9 million doses of Moderna vaccine for the next week, « Azar told ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday.

Azar says the Moderna vaccine is « shockingly effective » and expects to be vaccinated next week if the White House doctor tells him to. Azar’s wife tested positive for the coronavirus and is in quarantine.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams will be vaccinated on Friday morning on live television.

WASHINGTON – Congressional negotiators are working on a must-pass economic aid package for COVID-19 valued at nearly $ 1 trillion.

A weekend meeting appears necessary as it has some flaws, and a senior legislator warned that a government shutdown this weekend cannot be ruled out. All sides seem confident that the dispute will not derail legislation.

The key elements of the highly competitive aid compromise appear to be in place: more than $ 300 billion in corporate aid; a $ 300 weekly unemployment benefit and renewal of state benefits that are about to expire; $ 600 direct payments to individuals; Vaccine distribution funds; and money for renters, schools, the postal service and people in need of food aid.

LITTLE ROCK, ark. – One in five state and federal prisoners in the US has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times the rate of the general population.

In some states, more than half of prisoners are infected, according to The Associated Press and The Marshall Project.

By the time the pandemic reached its tenth month – and when the first Americans began receiving a long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine – at least 275. 000 prisoners infected and more than 1. 700 died.

New cases in prisons this week peaked since testing began in the spring, and far exceeded previous highs in April and August.

BERLIN – Germany’s Health Minister urges patience as the country prepares to vaccinate people against COVID-19. The most at risk should be vaccinated first.

Jens Spahn says people in nursing homes would be the first to receive gunshots on December. 27 if Germany expects to introduce the vaccine. About half of all almost 25. 000 COVID-19 deaths in Germany occurred in people over the age of 80, many of them in nursing homes.

Next up is medical personnel in intensive care medicine. Others, including police officers and teachers, are given the vaccine later.

According to Spahn, Germany, a country with 83 million inhabitants, expects 11 to 13 million vaccine doses in the first quarter of 2021. That number can rise as more vaccines are approved by regulators.

MADRID – Spain’s health minister says the country will start vaccinating against COVID-19 from December. 27.

Salvador Illa says Pfizer vaccines are due to arrive in Spain in December. 26th. He did not say how many doses Spain will initially receive. The country has announced that it will receive a total of 140 million cans.

Spain hopes to vaccinate 2. 5 million people in the first three months of 2021, starting with the elderly and health workers.

After Spain has declined significantly in recent weeks, the number of infections in Spain is rising again, although they are still among the lowest in the European Union.

Illa says the « situation is worrying » and reiterated the need to respect the restrictions over Christmas.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Norway announces that there will be around 50 between Christmas and New Years. 000 coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The Norwegian government announces that it will be producing a first batch of 10. 000 vaccines is received. 26 and not dec. . 24 as announced first.

The European Medicines Agency has postponed evaluation of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to December. 21 and non-EU member Norway will synchronize the rollout with the rest of the block.

BELGRADE, Serbia – According to Serbian State Television, health authorities have given approval to import Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

It is said that the Serbian Drugs and Medical Devices Authority approved the import of the vaccine after reviewing the U’s documents. S.. . and German companies.

Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar says that the first 5. 000 doses will arrive and vaccination will begin in nursing homes.

President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia had 340. 000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine ordered. The Balkan country also received 20 doses of the Russian vaccine for testing. Officials have said citizens can choose which vaccine to receive.

Serbia has thousands of new cases of infected infections every day, putting a huge strain on the country’s health system.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the country plans to start vaccinating April 35 from December. 000 healthcare workers to begin. 27 or 28, as part of an anticipated plan by the European Union to start supplying vaccines to its member states.

Orban says vaccinations with health workers will begin in the capital, Budapest, followed by medics in regional hospitals. He says vaccination will be free and voluntary and urges healthcare workers to get vaccinated.

Hungary posted 4 on the previous day. 428 coronavirus infections and 187 deaths. That brings the total number of infections in the nation from nearly 10 million people to nearly 296. 000 confirmed deaths and 7. 725 confirmed deaths.

ZAGREB, Croatia – Croatia has banned travel between different parts of the country before Christmas and New Years in an effort to contain rising coronavirus infections.

Authorities say from December. 23 to Jan. . 8 Only essential service personnel such as health workers and road maintenance teams are allowed to move from one region to another. Special permits are granted in exceptional cases.

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic says the virus situation does not allow easing of the measures for the upcoming holidays. Croatia has reported thousands of new coronavirus infections every day for weeks, which has overwhelmed the country’s health system.

BRUSSELS – More than 10. 000 elderly people living in Belgian rest homes have died of COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Yves Van Laethem, a spokesman for the Belgian coronavirus crisis center, says the death of Sept.. 270 convalescent home residents makes up 56 percent of all victims.

In a report released last month, Amnesty International said the Belgian authorities « abandoned » thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes and who did not seek hospital treatment for many infected who violated their human rights.

Belgium, one of the hardest hit countries in Europe, has more than 618. 000 confirmed virus cases and 18. 371 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths reported.

During the first wave of the epidemic last spring, the European nation of 11. 5 million people recorded the majority of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. According to Van Laethem, the situation has improved but remains “precarious and difficult. ”

In a Friday interview with the BBC, the ex-Beatle also downplayed the likelihood that he would go on tour next year to support his final album, released this week, « McCartney III, » saying that it depends on the success of the countermeasures against viruses.

When asked if he would get a coronavirus vaccine, 78-year-old McCartney said, “Yes, I will. And I want to encourage people to get it too, because that makes it a lot more serious, and yes, if I get to get it, I will. ”

He says he’d love to play at the UK’s Glastonbury Music Festival in 2021, despite being skeptical that the organizers could stage it, noting that probably 100. 000 people without masks would be packed tightly together. « You know, talk about a super spreader, » he says.

WASHINGTON – The judges at the U. . S.. . The Supreme Court receives doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

This comes from a letter from Capitol Doctor Brian Monahan. It is said that the court, along with the congressional and executive agencies, will be given a limited amount of doses “to continue government operations. ”

The doses will be provided in accordance with a policy by President Donald Trump that established government continuity as the reason for prioritizing vaccines. The Supreme Court and the other branches of government are to be “dealt with in parallel. ”

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea has 1. 062 new cases of coronavirus infections reported. This is the third day in a row over 1. 000 as the virus continues to grow in Seoul, where hospital beds are scarce.

The cases reported on Friday brought the nationally confirmed number of cases to 47. 515. There have been confirmed 645 deaths from COVID-19.

More than 760 of the new cases were in the densely populated metropolitan area of ​​Seoul, where health workers are struggling to contain transmissions.

Health officials have raised the alarm about an impending shortage of hospital beds and intensive care units.

The virus resurgence has put pressure on the government to maximize social distancing restrictions, something policymakers have opposed for weeks on economic grounds.

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