Passengers, wearing protective face masks, walk through the international arrivals hall after arriving at Terminal 2 at London Heathrow Airport in London, UK, June 8, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK / MEXICO CITY / LONDON / LISBON / ROME / SAN JOSE / WASHINGTON / BRASILIA / OTTAWA / PARIS / SANTIAGO / BERLIN / ADDIS ABABA / MADRID / DUBLIN / BUDAPEST / WARSAW / MONTREAL / QUITO / BUENOS AIRES / LJUBLJANA / BUCHAREST / ZAGREB / SOFIA / MOSCOW / OSLO - Norway will use the three vaccines developed by Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and BioNTech in its first push to inoculate its population against COVID-19, the country’s health minister said on Friday.
In the first quarter of 2021, Oslo expects to receive a total of 2.5 million doses, covering 1.25 million people. Norway’s population is 5.4 million.
Non-EU Norway will get access to vaccines obtained by the European Union thanks to Sweden, an EU member that will buy more than it needs and sell them to Norway.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca will start clinical trials to test a combination of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with Russia’s Sputnik V shot aimed at boosting the efficacy of the British drugmaker’s vaccine, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Friday.
Trials will start by the end of the year and Russia wants to jointly produce the new vaccine if it is proven to be effective, said the RDIF wealth fund, which has funded Sputnik V, named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race.
AstraZeneca, in a statement on Friday, said it was considering how it could assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, whether two common cold virus-based vaccines could be successfully combined.
It did not give further details. However, its Russian arm said it would start to enrol adults aged 18 years and older to the trial.
The co-operation between one of Britain’s most valuable listed companies and the state-backed Russian science research institute highlights the pressure to develop an effective shot to fight the pandemic that has killed over 1.5 million people.
The move is likely to be seen in Moscow as a long-awaited vote of confidence by a Western manufacturer in Sputnik V.
Its Russian developers say clinical trials, still underway, have shown it has an efficacy rate of over 90 percent, higher than AstraZeneca’s own vaccine and similar to US rivals Pfizer and Moderna.
READ MORE: UK clears Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for first shots next week
Global toll
The number of fatalities from COVID-19 recorded globally has exceeded 1.5 million while the global tally topped 65.1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
READ MORE: Virus claims 1.5m lives globally with 10,000 dying each day
Daily COVID-19 infections reported worldwide reached a record 716,289 on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.
It was the first time over 700,000. Daily cases recorded one month ago were 490,455.
GlaxoSmithKline
A COVID-19 vaccine project supported by GlaxoSmithKline Plc is headed for advanced trials after showing a strong immune response in early studies. Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. of China said its shot induced neutralizing antibodies and proved to be safe in a study of 150 adults and elderly volunteers. The vaccine uses adjuvants - agents that boost a vaccine’s response - from both Glaxo and Dynavax Technologies Corp.
A two-year-old boy receives a COVID-19 test, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Dec 3, 2020. (ELISE AMENDOLA / AP)
Africa tally
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded across the African continent reached 2,196,257 as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Thursday.
The death toll stood at 52,490, the Africa CDC added.
Airports reject vaccine requirement
Aviation industry opposition to requiring mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for passengers has intensified as impending drug approvals trigger a debate over their role in air travel.
Airports Council International (ACI), which represents airports worldwide, joined most airlines in calling for a choice between testing or vaccination, fearing a blanket rule imposing pre-flight inoculation would be as disruptive as quarantines.
"The industry cannot wait till vaccination becomes available worldwide. During the transition period, tests and vaccines together will play a key role on the industry recovery," ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira told Reuters.
Systematic testing is "more critical to reopening borders than the vaccine", IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac told Reuters.
Argentina
Argentina plans to vaccinate 300,000 people against the novel coronavirus before the end of the year, President Alberto Fernandez said Thursday.
"This week we are signing the contract with Russia" to receive doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, state news agency Telam cited the president as saying.
As of Wednesday, Argentina has registered 1,440,103 confirmed cases and 39,156 deaths.
Brazil
Brazil registered 50,434 new COVID-19 cases and 755 more deaths in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
The South American country has now registered 6,487,084 cases and 175,270 in total, according to ministry data.
ALSO READ: Backsliding worries WHO after progress
São Paulo's Butantan Institute biomedical center on Thursday received 1 million doses of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd that is undergoing late-stage testing by the institute at 16 locations in Brazil.
São Paulo Governor João Doria told reporters that immunizations in his state would begin in January, which means the state would begin vaccinations ahead of the national plan, slated to start in March.
Later on Thursday, Brazil's Senate approved a presidential decree that appropriates 2 billion reais (US$388 million) to buy the vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The lower chamber did so on Wednesday.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria on Friday announced plans to vaccinate people against the coronavirus free of charge once it has procured vaccine doses, and said it would start with doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, Health Minister Kostandin Angelov said.
Under the voluntary plan, teachers, people in care homes and workers at mink farms will be inoculated next, followed by workers in social services and people over 65 years of age.
"Every Bulgarian who would like to get a vaccine shot will get one for free," Angelov told reporters.
Canada
Canadian health authorities could approve Pfizer Inc's coronavirus vaccine within the next week, allowing distribution to start in early 2021, medical officials indicated on Thursday.
Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, said authorities were planning for a total of six million doses of vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna Inc to be administered in the first quarter of 2021. This is enough for three million of Canada's 38 million population.
A second wave is sweeping Canada, setting daily records for the number of new cases. So far, 395,576 cases of COVID-19 and 12,395 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to CTV.
Quebec, the second most populous of the 10 provinces, on Thursday reversed course and said different households would not be able to mix in homes for Christmas gatherings in hotspots like Montreal.
Quebec had previously said those living in the worst hit zones could host two gatherings of up to 10 people each during Dec 24-27.
Chile
Chile on Thursday extended a state of catastrophe that allows for the control of movement of people through curfews and lockdowns.
"The virus is still with us and therefore continues to pose a serious threat to health and life," President Sebastian Pinera said as he announced the measure.
The government also announced special social distancing regulations for Christmas, New Year and the Dec 14 total eclipse of the sun in a bid to avoid mass gatherings.
The regulations include the closure of roads and restrictions on traffic on Dec 14, and an extension of the current nighttime curfew to Christmas Eve.
Mass gatherings will be banned nationwide from 8 pm local time on Dec 24 to 5 am on Dec 25, while social gatherings will be limited to 30 people, including residents in the house.
For New Year celebrations, a curfew will run from Dec 31 at 2 am local time to 7 am on Jan 1 and mass gatherings will be banned form 8 pm on Dec 31 to 5 am on Jan 2.
Chile has so far reported 555,406 COVID-19 cases with 15,519 deaths.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE for the manufacture and delivery of 3 million COVID-19 vaccines next year, the office of President Carlos Alvarado said on Thursday.
Deliveries will be made throughout the four quarters of 2021, as established in an initial agreement announced on Oct 1, the president's office said in a statement.
The deal will allow Costa Rica to provide two doses to 1.5 million people and follows accords with AstraZeneca and the COVAX mechanism backed by the World Health Organization (WHO). In total, the agreements should cover about 3 million people, or almost 60 percent of the Costa Rican population.
The Central American country has so far registered some 142,505 cases of coronavirus and 1,757 related deaths.
Croatia
Croatia recorded 3,955 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 143,370, said the country's COVID-19 response team on Friday.
The disease has killed 2,032 people in the country, including 68 in the past 24 hours, it added.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced at a government session on Thursday that the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines could soon arrive in the country and vaccination will be free of charge to all citizens.
The first shipment will contain 125,000 doses of the vaccine. Priority will be given to health workers, nursing home residents, the chronically ill and the elderly.
Ecuador
Ecuador will hire more than 12,000 doctors and healthcare workers to strengthen its public health system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Lenin Moreno said Thursday.
Moreno announced the decision via Twitter after holding talks with healthcare professionals, representatives of the National Assembly, and Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos.
Earlier in the day, Zevallos said Ecuador planned to receive its first vaccines in January and to install 10,000 vaccination points across the country
Ecuador has so far registered 195,884 COVID-19 infections with 9,129 deaths, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
France
France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all in its social security system and has earmarked some 1.5 billion euros (US$1.82 billion) of next year's social security budget to cover the cost, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.
Castex confirmed that vaccination would not be made compulsory but urged as many as possible to get a shot.
The PM confirmed a vaccination campaign would begin within weeks, pending regulatory approval by the European Union's (EU) drugs regulator. The inoculation program would be staggered over three categories of people and spread throughout 2021, he said.
A first phase to run through February would see vaccines administered to nursing home residents and the staff looking after them, representing about 1 million. A second phase would see some 14 million receive the shot based on age and medical criteria, and a third, beginning in March, would target the rest of the population.
France, through the EU, has secured some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines, Castex said, enough to inoculate 100 million people - more than the country's population.
Meanwhile, Castex said the spread of the virus was continuing to slow in France and would soon go below the threshold of 10,000 new infections per day.
Health authorities reported 12,696 new infections on Thursday, bringing the tally to 2,257,331. Deaths rose by 324 to 54,140.
This photo shows a packed subway station in Frankfurt, Germany, on Dec 2, 2020. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)
Germany
German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Friday called for additional restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus in parts of Germany where infection numbers are very high.
"We still have too many districts and regions where additional measures are still needed," Spahn told German ZDF television.
Coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 23,449 to 1,130,238, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.
The reported death toll rose by 432 to 18,034, the tally showed.
Hungary
Hungary reported 189 additional COVID-19 deaths on Friday, the highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 5,513.
Infections rose by 6,212 to 238,056, government data showed. The country currently has more than 7,800 patients still in hospital.
As of Thursday, Hungary had the European Union's fourth-highest death rate per 100,000 people over a two-week period based on data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s coronavirus advisers are strictly opposed to a major easing of the country’s current pandemic measures, the premier said Friday in a state radio interview.
The government will decide on Monday whether current virus restrictions should be extended for the Christmas holidays, Orban said.
READ MORE: Interpol warns virus vaccines could be targeted by criminals
Ireland
A sharp fall in COVID-19 cases in Ireland is likely to stall following the ending on Dec 1 of six weeks of strict lockdown, a senior health official said on Thursday.
"I wouldn't expect case counts to decline any further in the coming week or 10 days," Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group told journalists after reporting a seven-day daily new case average of 254, down from almost 1,200 six weeks ago.
Ireland’s COVID-19 reproduction number is currently between 0.8 and 1, but is likely to rise over the Christmas period as social contacts increase, Nolan said.
Italy
Italy approved new restrictions on Thursday to avoid a surge in coronavirus infections over Christmas and the New Year, banning midnight mass and halting movement between towns, as the country posted its highest daily death toll of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that from Dec 21 to Jan 6, movement between Italy's 20 regions will only be allowed for work, medical reasons or emergencies. On Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, Italians cannot even leave their towns.
In a televised evening news conference, Conte said current curbs which are staggered around the country according to local infection rates were producing good results, but the Christmas holidays threatened to cause a new spike in cases.
An increase in new infections and hospital admissions has slowed in recent weeks, but Italy is still reporting more daily COVID-19 fatalities than any other European nation.
On Thursday, 993 deaths were reported, Italy's highest daily toll yet. The country also saw 23,225 new infections.
In total, the country has recorded 58,038 COVID-19 fatalities and more than 1.66 million cases to date.
Mexico
Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 11,030 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 608 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 1,144,643 cases and 108,173 deaths.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said earlier in the day he hoped that distribution of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will begin this month, a day after the government said it had reached a deal with the US drugmaker to acquire 34.4 million doses.
Lopez Obrador added that more analysis was still needed to determine priorities among groups set to receive the vaccine.
Moderna
Moderna Inc said on Thursday it expects to have between 100 million and 125 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine available globally in the first quarter of 2021.
The company said 85 million to 100 million of those doses would be available in the United States, with 15 million to 25 million available outside the country.
The first-quarter doses are within the 500 million to up to 1 billion doses the company expects to manufacture globally in 2021, Moderna said.
Results from an early-stage trial showed that the vaccine, mRNA-1273, produced high levels of binding and neutralizing antibodies that declined slightly over time, but remained elevated in all participants three months after the booster vaccination, the company said.
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc scaled back its COVID-19 production targets earlier this year after the drugmaker ran into difficulties securing all the materials it needs to produce the shots at a large scale.
In news releases through September, Pfizer had said that it aimed to manufacture up to 100 million vaccine doses this year. But in several releases in November, the company cut that to an estimate of up to 50 million doses. Pfizer is developing its vaccine with Germany-based BioNTech SE.
A Pfizer spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday that multiple factors slowed the company down, including the time it took to source large quantities of the raw materials needed to produce the shots. But the company said it has finished bringing its manufacturing up to scale and it is now producing vaccines at a rapid pace.
“Scaling up a vaccine at this pace is unprecedented, and we have made significant progress as we have moved forward in the unknown,” said spokeswoman Amy Rose. In particular, she said, “scale up of the raw material supply chain took longer than expected.”
Modifications to the vaccine production lines in both the US and Europe are now complete, Rose said.
“Finished doses are being made at a rapid pace,” said Rose. “We are confident in our ability to supply 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.”
Poland
The first coronavirus vaccines could reach Poland in January, the Polish prime minister's top aide said on Friday.
Poland has ordered 45 million COVID-19 vaccines, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said the country intended to start vaccinating health workers, security forces and the elderly in February.
Michal Dworczyk. the prime minister's chief of staff, told public broadcaster Polskie Radio Program 1 that there may be around 8,000 vaccination points in Poland.
As of Thursday, Poland had reported 1,028,610 cases of the coronavirus and 18,828 deaths.
Portugal
Portugal on Thursday announced plans to vaccinate people against the coronavirus voluntarily and free of charge, and said it hoped to inoculate nearly 10 percent of the population during the first phase that will kick off next month.
Priority will be given to those over 50 with pre-existing conditions, such as coronary disease or lung problems, frontline professionals from sectors such as health, military and security, as well as people in care homes and intensive care units.
READ MORE: WHO looks at possible digital vaccination certificates for travel
The first phase should be completed between January and February, Francisco Ramos, the coordinator of the government’s vaccination task force, said. He also said first phase could extend into April if there were delays.
Another 2.7 million people will get vaccinated during the second phase of the plan, including those aged 65 and over, and the rest of the population is expected to be vaccinated during a third phase.
Health Minister Marta Temido said the country would buy 22 million doses of COVID-19 shots for 200 million euros (US$243.14 million).
Portugal, with a population of about 10 million people, has reported 307,618 coronavirus cases, with 4,724 deaths.
Romania
Romania recorded 211 COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, setting a new daily record and bringing the total number of deaths to 11,876, according to official data released Thursday.
The country also reported 7,661 new cases, taking the tally to 492,211, said the Strategic Communication Group, the official novel coronavirus communication task force.
Russia
Russia reported 27,403 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including 6,868 in Moscow, taking the national total to 2,402,949 since the pandemic began.
Authorities also confirmed 569 deaths related to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the official national death toll to 42,176.
Slovenia
Slovenia on Thursday reported 1,772 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 81,338, according to official figures. Deaths rose by 45 to 1,592.
The health ministry unveiled on Thursday details about the country's COVID-19 vaccination plan, under which inoculation will be free of charge and available to all residents regardless of their health insurance status. Vaccine doses for around 50,000 residents are expected to be available in the first phase.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is expected to be the first to receive authorization. It is scheduled to be available at the end of December or in the first half of January, according to Doroteja Novak Gosaric, secretary at the ministry's healthcare directorate.
Meanwhile, the government has adopted a five-tier strategy for the relaxation of virus restrictions, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Twitter.
The current measures will remain in force as long as there are over 1,350 daily infections on average and more than 1,200 people in hospital.
South Africa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reimposed several curbs aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic in one of the nation’s biggest municipalities, which is battling a second wave of infections.
A 10 pm to 4 am curfew will be reinstated in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province, Ramaphosa said in a televised address on Thursday. Alcohol sales be restricted and the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public spaces will be forbidden.
The Eastern Cape province has seen infections breach the 130,000 mark this week, and accounted for almost half of the country's new cases in the week to Dec 3, according to the health ministry.
The number of new coronavirus cases in South Africa jumped to 4,400 on Wednesday, the highest since mid-August, Ramaphosa said. Of the 800,872 people diagnosed with the disease in the country so far, 92 percent have recovered while 21,803 have died.
ALSO READ: African nation worst hit by virus falling behind on vaccines
Spain
The Spanish region of Catalonia will not relax coronavirus restrictions on Monday as planned because of worsening infection rates, officials said, prompting some ski slopes to postpone their opening next week.
"We were reducing (contagion rates) very quickly ... Now the reduction is almost undetectable," Catalan health secretary Josep Maria Argimon said at a news conference.
The situation worsened after bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen on Nov 23, Argimon said, adding current restrictions would remain in place for at least another 15 days from Dec 7.
Officials said, however, they would allow people to move freely within and outside Catalonia during the Christmas celebrations.
Spain's Health Ministry on Thursday reported 10,127 new cases, bringing the tally to 1,675,902. The death toll climbed by 254 to 46,038.
Sweden
Sweden expects to get enough COVID-19 vaccines to immunize a fifth of the population in the first quarter of 2021, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Friday.
The nation has secured vaccines from Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc and CureVac NV through European Union agreements. Immunizations are scheduled to start on a smaller scale in January, with 4 million doses - enough for 2 million people - expected to be delivered by the end of March.
The vaccination program will give priority to residents and staff at care homes, as well as the elderly receiving assistance at home, Public Health Agency director-general Johan Carlson said at a news briefing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is projected on screens at the UN headquarters in New York as he delivers a speech at a UN General Assembly special session on COVID-19 on Dec 3, 2020. (ESKINDER DEBEBE / UN PHOTO HANDOUT VIA XINHUA)
UN
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for global solidarity and a sense of urgency to confront COVID-19.
Guterres made the appeal while addressing a special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly on COVID-19. Dozens of world leaders have submitted pre-recorded video statements for the two-day meeting.
Looking ahead, the recovery from COVID-19 must address the pre-existing conditions it has exposed and exploited, from gaps in basic services to an overheated planet, he said. Stronger health systems, universal health coverage must be a priority and social safety nets must work for everyone.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of scientists and researchers from around the world, vaccines may become available within the next weeks and months, he said. "But let's not fool ourselves. A vaccine cannot undo damage that will stretch across years, even decades to come."
The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), a global collaboration led by the WHO for the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines has a finance gap of US$28 billion, including US$4.3 billion urgently needed for the next two months, Guterres noted.
Guterres also decried countries - without naming any - who rejected facts about the coronavirus and ignored guidance from the WHO.
From the start, the WHO provided factual information and scientific guidance that should have been the basis for a coordinated global response. Unfortunately, these recommendations were not followed. Some countries continue to reject facts and ignore guidance. And when countries go in their own direction, the virus goes in every direction, Guterres lamented.
Equitable access to vaccines
Speakers at the special session said that equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine, medicines and medical equipment should be secured in global response to the pandemic.
Munir Akram, president of the Economic and Social Council, said advance purchase for COVID-19 vaccine must not be allowed to undermine collective commitment to equity in vaccine distribution.
Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan and chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), expressed the hope that COVID-19 vaccines will be considered as global public goods ensuring their universal distribution at affordable prices for all.
Extreme poverty
An additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to the severe long-term impact of the pandemic, bringing the total number to over one billion, a new study from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found.
According to the study which was released on Thursday, such a "high damage" scenario would mean a protracted recovery from COVID-19, anticipating that 80 percent of the pandemic-induced economic crisis would continue over a decade.
READ MORE: UN: Pandemic pushed 32m people into extreme poverty
A tight focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could slow the rise of extreme poverty - lifting 146 million from its grip - and even exceed the development trajectory the world was on before the pandemic, UNDP said.
Such an ambitious but feasible "SDG push" scenario would also narrow the gender poverty gap, and reduce the female poverty headcount, even taking into account the current impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency added.
People wearing face masks walk past the illuminated Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, London, Dec 3, 2020. (MATT DUNHAM / AP)
US
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States on Thursday topped 14 million while the toll has surpassed 276,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 13,822,249 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 196,227 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,762 to 272,525.
More than 100,000 patients were also hospitalized for COVID-19 for the first time on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the US recorded 200,070 new cases, the second highest daily tally, as well as another 2,804 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's data.
California recently replaced Texas as the state with the most cases at 1,271,722. Texas has recorded 1,270,537 cases. The other state with more than 1 million cases is Florida with a tally of 1,018,160 cases.
On Thursday, New York City’s average number of coronavirus cases and its infection rate hit the highest levels since May, while statewide daily infections closed in on 10,000.
Elsewhere, New Jersey and North Carolina reported record cases while California will impose a new shelter-at-home order if hospitals start running short of intensive-care capacity.
President-elect Joe Biden said he would ask all Americans to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus for the first 100 days of his administration as well as issue a “standing order” requiring face coverings in federal buildings and on all interstate transportation.
On vaccine distribution, New York City is expecting COVID-19 vaccine shipments as early as Dec 15 and the first batch will prioritize health care workers and nursing home residents, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted. Meanwhile, healthcare workers and nursing homes in Dallas county, Texas, will have vaccines later this month, Judge Clay Jenkins said.
