A Japanese health panel on Friday night recommended approval of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine - the first in the country - as Japan tries to tame a third wave of infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympics.
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with a bipartisan group of mayors and governors on Friday as he continues to push for approval of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan to bolster economic growth and help millions of unemployed workers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will issue new COVID-19 guidelines for schools as the Biden administration seeks to fulfill its promise to send most students back to the classroom within its first 100 days.
When the U.S. government began shipping COVID-19 vaccines in December, state health providers could not administer shots fast enough to keep pace with deliveries and millions of doses sat waiting for arms.
India has won plaudits for gifting and selling COVID-19 vaccines around the world, but it will have to crank up the pace of immunisations at home to meet its targets.
Europe's drugs regulator said on Friday it had launched a real-time review of CureVac's COVID-19 vaccine to speed up potential approvals and bring more shots to the region reeling from a surge in infections. The EU hopes to start giving out money from its 750 billion euros coronavirus economic recovery fund before the end of the summer.
A Japanese government health panel has approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for use, NHK national television reported on Friday, the first such approval in Japan.
Japanese retail group Aeon Co Ltd said it will offer its shopping malls throughout the country for COVID-19 vaccinations in response to a government request.
The number of COVID-19 cases in eastern Europe surpassed 10 million on Friday, according to Reuters tally, as countries across the region aim to increase vaccine procurements from multiple suppliers to accelerate inoculation programmes.
Montenegro and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the new coronavirus for use, Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Friday.
