(Reuters) – New Zealand has abandoned its strategy of eliminating coronavirus amid a persistent Delta outbreak, which appears to have levelled off in Australia.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* A patchwork of campaigns for an extra shot are being rolled out across the European Union even before the region’s drug watchdog rules on whether they are safe and effective.
* Italy’s health ministry has given its green light for people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu shot at the same time.
* Russia’s health minister said the country’s Sputnik V vaccine was closer to getting approval from the World Health Organization.
AMERICAS
* U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday refused to block New York City’s requirement that its public school teachers and employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
* As New York, San Francisco and a few other U.S. cities and counties require restaurants to check proof of vaccination to dine indoors, some fast-food chains are simply shutting their seating areas altogether.
* Nicaragua has authorised two Cuban-made coronavirus vaccines in the Central American nation.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Singapore is reviewing how to simplify its pandemic protocols that many in the city-state find over complex, including whether to continue testing those who show no symptoms of the disease.
* Beijing will hold its city-wide marathon on Oct. 31, resuming the annual race after suspending it last year due to COVID-19, state media Xinhua said.
* Malaysia is in talks to procure an experimental antiviral pill developed by Merck & Co for COVID-19 treatment.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Israel on Sunday piled pressure on its vaccinated citizens to get a booster shot by making only those who received their third dose eligible for a “green pass” allowing entry to restaurants, gyms and many other venues.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* An advisory panel of experts to the U.S. drug regulator will hold meetings this month to review data on Pfizer Inc’s vaccine in young children, and whether to clear booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.
* Canadian health officials said on Friday data suggests reported cases of rare heart inflammation were relatively higher after Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine compared with the Pfizer/BioNTech shots.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares dipped on Monday as concerns about China’s property sector and inflation worries offset upbeat U.S. data and positive news on new drugs to fight the coronavirus. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Asia’s manufacturing activity broadly stagnated in September as pandemic-induced factory shutdowns and signs of slowing Chinese growth weighed on the region’s economies.
* Demand for coal and natural gas has exceeded pre-pandemic highs with oil not far behind, dealing a setback to hopes the pandemic would spur a faster transition to clean energy from fossil fuels.
(Compiled by Ramakrishnan M.; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
