Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a senior citizen care home in Premnitz, Germany, Dec 30, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK / SAO PAULO / BERLIN / PARIS / CAIRO / LONDON / ADDIS ABABA - The World Health Organization issued its first emergency-use designation for a COVID-19 vaccine, making the Pfizer / BioNTech the first immunization to receive a green light from the Geneva-based body. The move could allow more countries to import and distribute the vaccine, which has already been cleared for use in the US, UK and Europe.

Global tally

The global COVID-19 death toll has surpassed 1.8 million while the number of coronavirus cases reported worldwide topped 83.3 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Pfizer 

Pfizer Inc. said the second dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should be delivered to individuals within the recommended 21-day period, calling into question a decision by the UK to space out the dosing regimen.

The UK decision not to hold back any of its vaccine supply is aimed at quickly reaching as many high-risk people as possible. Under the government plan, second doses could be administered as many as 12 weeks later, longer than the three-week timing determined as optimal by Pfizer’s late-stage studies and the four weeks suggested for the shot developed by Moderna Inc.

Pfizer said Thursday that people should get their shots on the recommended schedule, warning that “there is no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days.”

READ MORE: 'World risks moral catastrophe' if virus shots delayed in Africa

US

The US ended 2020 with records and milestones: New York state and Florida, each hit hard as the coronavirus ravaged across the nation, broke their previous daily records for cases. Texas reported a new high for hospitalizations. California became the third state to pass 25,000 fatalities, after New York and Texas. Virginia reported record infections as total fatalities surpassed 5,000.

New York City plans to speed up the slow start to vaccinations and inoculate 1 million residents in January, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Only about 2.8 million Americans had received a COVID-19 vaccine going into the last day of December, putting the United States far short of the government’s target to vaccinate 20 million people this month.

Shots are reaching nursing home residents at an even slower pace than others first in line even though they are most at risk of dying of the virus.

Some 170,000 people in long-term care facilities received a shot as of Dec. 30 although 2.2 million doses have been distributed for residents, according to data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 14 million doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines have been distributed to states so far, federal officials told reporters on Wednesday, shy of its goal to ship 20 million doses this month.

UK

Another 55,892 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in the country, according to official figures released Thursday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,488,780, the data showed.

It is the third day in a row when more than 50,000 cases were reported in the country.

Another 964 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 73,512, the data showed.

On Thursday, emergency field hospitals known as Nightingale hospitals across England are being "readied" for use if needed.

ALSO READ: UK first in world to approve AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine

France

France has identified a first case of the South African variant of the virus, the health ministry said. The man self-isolated at home immediately after symptoms appeared a few days after returning from South Africa, the ministry said. No “risky” contact cases have been identified by the authorities, and the person has now fully recovered.

To limit the spread of new COVID-19 variants, France is requiring people traveling from the U.K. and South Africa to provide fresh negative tests.

Spain

Spain reported a record number of new cases for a second day as infections continued to increase during the festive period.

New cases identified over the previous 24 hours climbed by 10,217, compared with 9,860 on Wednesday. Spain reported 148 deaths in the past 24 hours while the 14-day infection rate rose to 280 per 100,000 people from 265.

Germany

Banned from setting off fireworks in much of their city, some Berliners instead tried to launch them from their homes on New Year’s Eve, leading to dozens of fires across the German capital.

Between midnight (2300 GMT) and just six minutes later, the Berlin fire service said it was called to 18 fires, with more following deeper into the night. No one was initially reported seriously injured.

Berlin revellers usually take to the streets to light up the sky with fireworks on New Year’s Eve but authorities banned the use of fireworks in certain public places, including more than 50 zones in the capital, to discourage large crowds from gathering.

Italy

Pandemic indicators in Italy remained encouraging at a time when the country is ready to mark the New Year's arrival avoiding any sort of mass celebrations.

The vaccine to prevent the coronavirus disease and the European Union (EU) recovery program will be two crucial tools for Italy's relaunch in 2021, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Thursday in his New Year speech.

"The pandemic has carved deep scars in our lives and our society. It has worsened old inequalities and created new ones," said Mattarella.

Italy on Thursday recorded 23,477 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The latest data by the health ministry also showed 17,421 new recoveries and 555 new fatalities on a daily basis.

This brought to 2,107,166 the total number of cases assessed in Italy since the pandemic broke out here in late February. The country's death toll stood at 74,159, while the total number of people who recovered from the COVID-19 infection rose to 1,463,111.

Russia

Russia recorded 27,039 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, slightly down from 27,747 a day earlier, the country's COVID-19 response center said Friday.

The national tally of COVID-19 cases has increased to 3,186,336, including 57,555 deaths and 2,580,138 recoveries, the center said.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria's COVID-19 cases and deaths in 2020 reached 202,266 and 7,576, respectively, according to data published by its Unified Information Portal midnight Friday.

The Balkan country reported 1,046 new infections and 61 deaths in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, 1,192 people recovered, raising the total recoveries to 119,527, showed the data.

Members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) guard a roadblock in the Times Square area of New York, US, on Dec 31, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Mexico

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that the vaccine against COVID-19 represents "the light at the end of the tunnel" in the fight against the pandemic.

During his last press conference of 2020, the president said COVID-19, the economic crisis and safety are the three fundamental problems that his administration will face in the coming year.

"The light at the end of the tunnel is the vaccine, which we have already started administering in our country," he said.

Mexico started the first phase of vaccinations for up to 750,000 healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients on Dec. 24, which will be followed by the elderly.

The country has reported over 1,413,000 cases and more than 124,000 deaths.

Ecuador

Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health on Thursday reported 1,000 new daily COVID-19 cases and four fatalities, raising the total number of cases to 212,512 and the death toll to 9,473.

The virus continued to spread throughout the South American country, with its capital Quito hit hardest as it climbed to a total of 69,583 infections, according to the ministry.

Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos told the media on Wednesday that hospital bed occupancy was at 78.8 percent nationally, with some public and private hospitals in Quito out of intensive care beds.

Brazil 

Brazilians saw in 2021 with fireworks under unusual social distancing measures, while in a hospital intensive care ward outside Sao Paulo, doctors tending COVID-19 patients held one minute of silence for the passing of a deadly year.

Medical staff stood at the foot of beds with people hooked up to ventilators, and then went around wishing their patients a happy New Year through face shields and masks.

Brazil may obtain the Moderna Inc. vaccine, President Jair Bolsonaro said during a live broadcast on social media Thursday. “In addition to Pfizer, we have another one that is now available, Moderna, which may be acquired by Brazil,” he said.

Brazil registered 1,074 deaths from the novel coronavirus disease in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 194,949, the Ministry of Health said Thursday.

Meanwhile, tests detected 56,773 more positive cases, raising the nationwide tally to 7,675,973, it said.

The southeast state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, is the hardest-hit by the pandemic with 46,717 deaths and 1,462,297 cases.

The Latin American nation has the world's second highest COVID-19 death toll, behind only the United States, and the third largest caseload, surpassed only by the United States and India. 

Argentina

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez on Thursday ruled out imposing a curfew to curb crowds and gatherings amid an increase in the novel coronavirus disease, but said officials were looking at alternative measures.

"We are contemplating the possibility of the security forces breaking up crowds, but we are not going to implement a curfew," Fernandez told a local radio station.

"We are going to let New Year's Eve pass and starting next week we are going to look at this with a magnifying glass to see how we can resolve it," the president said.

In December, "social gatherings and marches of different kinds and for different reasons were held, all things that could have helped the virus to circulate," noted Fernandez.

Chile

The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 3,022 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest number since July 10, when it registered 3,058.

Authorities said the new cases and deaths could be related to the update of numbers after the long Christmas holiday weekend.

To date, the South American country has reported a total of 608,973 cases and 16,608 deaths, with 109 deaths registered in the past day.

Minister of Health Enrique Paris called for continued preventive measures on the eve of New Year's celebrations, adding that "making this effort could allow us to begin a better 2021." 

Africa

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director John Nkengasong on Thursday said he envisages most African countries will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines by the second half of 2021.

"2020 was a tough year, but we believe through collaborative efforts and global solidarity, we can turn the corner on the disease in the African continent in 2021 by availing access to COVID-19 vaccines," Nkengasong said at a virtual press conference.

"African states should be actively prepared to vaccinate a large number of people speedily and reach all corners of the continent, when they eventually receive the COVID-19 vaccines," he said.

The Africa CDC director called on African countries and the public to continue implementing anti-COVID-19 precautionary measures.

 "With the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic affecting Africa, now more than ever, it is important that we all adhere to public health and social measures to protect our health and the health of our friends, family, and loved ones this holiday season," the Africa CDC said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Noting that Africa recorded 154,000 new COVID-19 cases and 3,500 deaths in the last one week, Nkengasong urged continued vigilance against the spread of the disease across the continent.

As of Thursday afternoon, the African continent registered 2,727,345 COVID-19 cases, with the death toll reaching 64,760. 

Morocco 

Morocco announced on Thursday 1,861 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the North African country to 439,193.

The total number of recoveries from the virus in Morocco increased to 407,504 after 2,253 more were added, while the death toll rose by 33 to 7,388, the Moroccan Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 408 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 124,264 in the country.

The ministry said that the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country reached 1,923 as of Thursday evening, including five new COVID-19 related deaths reported during the last 24-hour period.

The ministry further said that some 112,096 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had recovered so far, including 226 in the last 24-hour period.

South Africa

South Africa reported a record 18,000 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 1.06 million. “Previously we warned that this second wave will dwarf the first wave and indeed this is the case,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement late Thursday.

“Despite performing of 55,000 tests in the past 24 hours, the positivity rate is 32.5 percent -- we keep highlighting this point because this indicates that the virus is spreading so fast that it is outpacing our ability to detect it -- even with good turnaround times.”

The number of people who’ve died after being diagnosed with the disease rose by 436 to 28,469, the health ministry said.