Lagging its neighbours, France tries to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations

PARIS (Reuters) -French officials urged a faster rate of COVID-19 inoculations on Monday after an initial roll-out slowed by bureaucracy and what some see as excessive government precautions in one of the most vaccine-sceptical countries in the world.

EU in discussions with Pfizer-BioNTech for additional vaccine doses

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission is in discussions with Pfizer and BioNTech about the possibility of ordering more doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to the 300 million shots already covered under an existing contract, a spokesman said on Monday.

Japanese government considers state of emergency for Tokyo area

The Japanese government said on Monday it was considering declaring a state of emergency in and around Tokyo as coronavirus cases climb, casting fresh doubt over whether it can push ahead with the summer Olympics and keep economic damage to a minimum.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

(Reuters) -Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

UK first to roll out AstraZeneca shots in race to stem COVID surge

Britain began vaccinating its population with Oxford University and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot on Monday in a world first, racing to give protection to the elderly and vulnerable as a new surge of cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

'So pleased' - Britain gives first dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to dialysis patient

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain began inoculating its citizens with the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, giving the shot to Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old dialysis patient, at a hospital a few hundred metres away from where the vaccine was developed.

UK scientists worried vaccines may not work on S.African coronavirus variant - ITV

Scientists are not fully confident that COVID-19 vaccines will work on a new variant of the coronavirus found in South Africa, ITV's political editor said on Monday, citing an unidentified scientific adviser to the British government.

Philippine president lauds guards' courage in using unauthorised vaccine - spokesman

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has commended his security detail for their "loyalty and courage" in inoculating themselves with unauthorised COVID-19 vaccines, his spokesman said on Monday, as some lawmakers called their actions illegal.

Dubai Airports and GMR Hyderabad agree deal to aid vaccine distribution

Dubai Airports and the operator of Hyderabad airport, GMR Hyderabad, have agreed a logistics deal for COVID-19 vaccine distribution to handle up to 300 tonnes of vaccines per day, the companies said on Monday.

Irish hospitals cannot manage current COVID-19 trajectory - health chief

Ireland's hospitals cannot manage the current trajectory of its fast-growing COVID-19 outbreak and will cancel most non-urgent procedures this week to create as much spare critical care space as possible, its hospitals' chief said on Monday.

UK PM Johnson says: we'll have to take tougher COVID-19 measures - Sky

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would have to take tougher measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, Sky News reported.

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