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Deaths after flu shots in S.Korea fan fears
Nine people have died after getting flu shots in South Korea in the past week, raising concerns over the vaccine’s safety just as the seasonal inoculation program is expanded to head off potential COVID-19 complications.

Five new deaths were reported on Wednesday alone, but authorities had no plans to suspend the vaccination program, unless investigations, including post mortems, revealed a link, which preliminary findings had not.

“We have reviewed whether it is appropriate to continue the vaccination or better to suspend and wait for the results,” health official Kim Joong-gon told a briefing.

Bolsonaro says his government will not buy China's Sinovac vaccine
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Facebook on Wednesday his government will not buy China’s Sinovac vaccine, after the health minister said on Tuesday that it would be included in the nation’s immunization program.

“It (the Sinovac vaccine) won’t be bought,” Bolsonaro said responding to a supporter who urged him not to buy the vaccine. The president said the issue would be clarified on Wednesday.

Chinese city offers residents experimental vaccines
Shaoxing city in China’s Zhejiang province will offer experimental coronavirus vaccines to its residents, as China broadens an emergency use program to people in non-priority groups, the city’s health commission said on Tuesday on its WeChat account.

It did not name the vaccine, say when inoculation would start or how many doses would be offered. Residents aged between 18 and 59 who are not in priority groups, can apply online for inoculation. Applicants will need to give reasons for wanting the vaccine on their applications and will be charged $60 for two doses, with an additional inoculation fee of 28 yuan per dose, the city said.

Victoria state paves way for pop-up dining
Australia’s heaviest-hit coronavirus state of Victoria logged a sixth consecutive day of low single-digit new cases, as the state government said it was on track to announce fresh easing measures at the weekend.

Victoria, which has been under strict lockdown measures since early July, hopes to revitalize outdoor dining over the summer in the hospitality sector, by allowing pop-up restaurants in public gardens and carparks in downtown areas.

Mexico could share vaccine liabilities with laboratories
Mexico could share some liabilities arising from any adverse side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines used in the country, but it will negotiate the issue once laboratories have finished developing the medicines, the foreign ministry said.

As various vaccine candidates make their way through different stages of global clinical trials at a record pace, it remains unclear who foots the bill if people in poor countries fall sick from treatments.

Martha Delgado, the deputy foreign minister in charge of Mexico’s international response to the pandemic, earlier told Reuters in an interview that she did not expect Latin America’s second-largest economy to need a contingency fund to cover liabilities, saying not participating in COVAX and missing out on its vaccines would have been a bigger risk for Mexico.

Track the global spread with our live interactive graphic.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: EQT, Telecoms, Rare earths. Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

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U.S. ELECTIONS 2020

Former U.S. President Barack Obama will make his first appearance on the campaign trail for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is locked in a tight race with President Donald Trump in crucial states 13 days before the Nov. 3 election. Obama, who served eight years in office with Biden as his vice president, will urge supporters to vote early for Biden and other Democratic candidates in the general election at an outdoor drive-in rally in Philadelphia.

Roughly 7.3 million infrequent and first-time voters had cast their ballots as of Tuesday, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic analytics firm. That’s more than two and a half times the number of ballots cast at the same point four years ago, the data show, as states have expanded absentee and early in-person voting options due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

A U.S. federal appeals court left in place North Carolina’s plan for counting absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. In a 12-3 decision, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a bid to halt the North Carolina State Board of Elections from tallying ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 that arrive before Nov. 12.

The battle over a hefty, new U.S. coronavirus aid bill was set to spill into Wednesday as the White House and Democrats try to strike a deal before the Nov. 3 presidential and congressional elections, now with the encouragement of President Donald Trump. Plenty of hurdles remained, however, not the least of which was the overall price tag of a bill that could be in the range of $2.2 trillion, the number Democrats had been pushing for months.