In this Feb 22, 2021 photo, a doctor administers a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a vaccination centre set up at the Fiveways Islamic Centre and Mosque in Nottingham, central England. (OLI SCARFF / AFP)

NEW YORK / JOHANNESBURG / LONDON / UNITED NATIONS / KIGALI / NAIROBI / PARIS / MADRID / STOCKHOLM / PRAGUE / ROME / ZURICH / MOSCOW / MINSK - Britain said that restrictions on the export of COVID-19 vaccines could endanger the global fight against the virus, adding that it expected the European Union to honour commitments it made over its vaccine programme.

“The global recovery from COVID-19 relies on international collaboration. We are all dependent on global supply chains - putting in place restrictions endangers global efforts to fight the virus,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Friday.

The EU executive has backed Italy’s decision to block a shipment of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia.

Another 6,573 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,201,358, according to official figures released Thursday.

The country also reported another 242 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 124,025. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

READ MORE: Germany rejects EU executive call to ease virus border curbs

Global tally 

The number of coronavirus cases reported worldwide stood at 115.5 million while the global death toll topped 2.56 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Pfizer 

The factory that Pfizer Inc. plans to use to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine for the massive US inoculation effort was cited by federal inspectors last year for repeated quality-control violations.

Food and Drug Administration inspectors visited the McPherson, Kansas, plant at the end of 2019 into January 2020, according to an inspection report obtained by Bloomberg via a Freedom of Information request. They found the drug giant released medications for sale after failing to thoroughly review quality issues that arose in routine testing, the report shows.

In this Feb 22, 2021 photo, a nurse administers a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a vaccination centre set up at the Fiveways Islamic Centre and Mosque in Nottingham, central England. (OLI SCARFF / AFP)

Growing confidence in vaccines

Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people’s willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday.

Co-led by Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling firm YouGov, the survey found trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore which had previously had low levels of confidence.

The latest update of the survey, which ran from Feb 8 to Feb 21, found that people in the UK are the most willing, with 77 percent saying they would take a vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 if one was available that week.

This is up from 55 percent in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine - co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech - gained regulatory approval for use in Britain.

People in France, Singapore and Japan remained among the least willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine, at 40 percent, 48 percent and 48 percent, respectively - but all three have seen confidence rising since November when only 25 percent, 36 percent and 39 percent of people were positive.

The survey also found that worries over vaccine side effects have faded in the majority of countries, with fewer than half (45 percent) of all respondents currently reporting concern.

Again, people in France, Singapore and Japan are currently most worried about side effects, with around 6 in 10 feeling concerned (56 percent, 59 percent, 61 percent), while the UK is the least concerned.

The latest survey involved more than 13,500 people in Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.

US study

A research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that three new, fast-spreading variants of the virus that cause COVID-19 can evade antibodies that work against the original form of the virus that sparked the pandemic.

To assess whether the new variants could evade antibodies made for the original form of the virus, the researchers tested the ability of antibodies to neutralize three virus variants in the laboratory.

The researchers tested the variants against antibodies in the blood of people who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection or were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. They also tested antibodies in the blood of mice, hamsters and monkeys that had been vaccinated with an experimental COVID-19 vaccine, developed at Washington University School of Medicine, that can be given through the nose.

Pedestrians wear protective face masks while crossing Rue de Rennes in Paris, France, on Feb. 24, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

US

More than a dozen US states reported increases in hospitalizations for the coronavirus, threatening to reverse a national trend that’s pushed in-patient numbers to the lowest level since the fall.

US hospitals were treating 49,519 patients as of Thursday, data from the Department of Health and Human Services show. The tally fell 3.8 percent since March 1 after California reported 544 fewer cases and Texas recorded a decline of 391. Hospitalizations are down 62 percent from a peak of 131,637 in mid-January, though the pace of the reduction appears to be slowing.

Michigan had 945 hospitalizations Thursday, an increase of 13 percent over the past three days. Cases jumped 4.9 percent to 2,075 in Pennsylvania. New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho and Wyoming also recorded an increase in in-patients.

COVID-19 cases make up 12 percent of hospital patients in New York and Georgia, the highest proportion among US states.

ALSO READ: World Bank readies virus funds for about 30 African nations

Ireland

Irish authorities have identified four cases of stillbirth caused by COVID-19 placentitis, a virus-related condition that leads to inflammation of the placenta, deputy chief medical officer, Ronan Glynn said. While the findings are preliminary, the nation’s health service has been informed and is monitoring the situation, he said. Ireland reported 462 more cases on Thursday, with 39 deaths.

Canada

The Canadian minister in charge of vaccines said it’s “highly likely” the government will be able to move up its target date of September for inoculating every citizen who wants a Covid-19 shot.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Thursday in an interview that more people could get their jabs at a faster pace as the delivery of doses ramps up.

Canada had administered 5.5 doses of vaccine per 100 people as of Wednesday, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, putting it last among all Group of Seven nations except Japan. The UK and US have given 32.3 and 24.3 doses per 100 of their citizens, respectively.

Ukraine

The third wave of COVID-19 has begun in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in Kiev on Thursday.

"Every day we see an increase in the number of patients, unfortunately, it should be noted that the third wave of the epidemic in Ukraine has begun," Interfax-Ukraine quoted Shmyhal as saying on Thursday.

Shmyhal noted that the Ukrainian authorities would reintroduce a nationwide lockdown if most of the regions go into the "red" zone of epidemiological danger.

The prime minister's statement followed data showing that on Thursday the daily increase in COVID-19 cases exceeded 10,000 in Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of this year.

COVID-19 cases have been growing in Ukraine over the past week against the backdrop of the coronavirus vaccination campaign which started on Feb. 24.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Health, 9,568 people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus with the first dose as of Wednesday.

France

The French government spared the Paris region from a weekend coronavirus lockdown for now and pledged to accelerate the vaccine rollout in two dozen high-risk zones in an effort to ease the load on hospitals and stave off further restrictions.

President Emmanuel Macron is determined to keep the economy open as long as possible even as the COVID-19 infection rate rises nationally.

Prime Minister Jean Castex did however announce on Thursday a weekend lockdown for the northerly Pas-de-Calais area, like that already imposed on the French Riviera. A nationwide nightly curfew has been in place since mid-December.

“This decision not to lockdown (other areas) has a flip-side. For the government, it is to accelerate testing and the vaccine deployment, from this weekend,” Castex told a news conference.

Macron hopes to avoid a further setback for the economy in the expectation that the country’s vaccination programme, which has targeted the most vulnerable but been slow, will gradually bring down the numbers of people falling sick and dying.

To contain the spread of new coronavirus variants in France, Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday announced weekend lockdown in more areas, tougher rules against social mixing in high-risk regions and faster vaccination rollout.

The northern department of Pas-de-Calais will move into lockdown starting this weekend. The incidence rate there hit 400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, double the national average. The number of new infections surged by 23 percent in the last five days.

As in Alpes-Maritimes and Dunkirk, people in Pas-de-Calais have to stay at home from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday, announced Castex at the weekly press conference on the sanitary situation.

Italy

Italy on Thursday reported 22,865 new coronavirus cases, up from 20,884 cases recorded on Wednesday and bringing total active infections to 446,439.

The Ministry of Health reported that another 339 COVID-19 patients have died, down from 347 deaths on Wednesday and pushing to 98,974 the death toll since the pandemic officially started in the country in late February 2020.

Meanwhile, another 13,488 COVID-19 patients have recovered, down from 14,068 recoveries on Wednesday and pushing overall recoveries to 2,453,706.

Of the total current infections, the vast majority, or 423,807 people, are isolated at home with mild or no symptoms, while 20,157 are hospitalized with symptoms. Another 2,475 are treated in intensive care units, up by 232 compared to Wednesday.

Also on Thursday, the Gimbe Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to disseminating scientific evidence and knowledge for better public health services, said that according to its independent monitoring report, new cases have jumped by 33 percent between Feb. 24 and March 2.

Polish

Vaccine producer AstraZeneca has delayed the delivery of 62,000 vaccine doses to Poland that was due on Thursday, the country's Material Reserves Agency (ARM) said.

The agency's Chairman, Michal Kuczmierowski, said the delivery did not take place "due to formalities" and claimed AstraZeneca had informed him at the very last moment of the delay.

"This situation is absolutely scandalous," Kuczmierowski told the Polish news channel TVN24. "These kinds of practices are devastating to our vaccination schedule."

Portugal 

Portugal registered on Thursday another 28 deaths related to COVID-19, the lowest figure since Oct. 27, 2020, taking the total of victims to 16,458, according to the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

A further 830 cases of infection were reported in the last 24 hours, consolidating the downward trend seen for the fifth consecutive day. The country now has a total of 807,456 cases.

Meanwhile, 1,708 patients are hospitalized, the lowest since Oct. 26, with 399 in intensive care units, according to the DGS. The recoveries in Portugal rose by 1,654 in a 24-hour span to 727,053 since the beginning of the pandemic.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. According to health authorities, 929,133 people have been vaccinated in Portugal.

Sweden

The Swedish government decided on Thursday that, as of next week, municipalities across the country will have the mandate to restrict access to public spaces such as parks and beaches.

Local restrictions can be introduced in the event of a high rate of transmission in a municipality and if there is a risk of many people gathering in certain places, TT news agency reported.

Individuals who ignore the rules risk a fine of 2,000 SEK (US$237).

When the amendment to the Restriction Regulation comes into effect on March 11, zoos, museums and art galleries will also be subject to the same rules as shops and gyms. Under the new rules, they can remain open as long as they limit the number of visitors and minimize the risk of crowds gathering.

By Thursday, Sweden has recorded more than 680,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the total number of deaths has risen to 12,977. Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency said that they have removed the recommendation not to vaccinate those aged 65 and older with the vaccine from AstraZeneca.

A shipment of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Northwell Health South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, New York, US, on March 3, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

EU

The European Union is planning to extend its export authorisation scheme for COVID-19 vaccines to the end of June, two EU sources told Reuters on Thursday, as a shipment of AstraZeneca shots from the EU to Australia was blocked.

Extending controls could reignite tensions with countries who rely on shots made in the EU.

Under the scheme, companies must get an authorisation before exporting COVID-19 shots, and may have export requests denied if they do not respect their supply commitments with the EU.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) started on Thursday the rolling review of Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V amid rising concerns over the current shortfall in supply of jabs in the European Union (EU).

The application of Sputnik V, developed by Russia's Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was submitted by its EU partner R-Pharm Germany GmbH.

"EMA will evaluate data as they become available to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. The rolling review will continue until enough evidence is available for formal marketing authorisation application," said the agency.

Meanwhile, the European Commission confirmed on Thursday it hasn't initiated any contact with Gamaleya. "Currently no talks are ongoing to integrate Sputnik V in the portfolio", said Stefan De Keersmaecker, the commission's spokesperson for public health.

Germany

The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) in Germany updated its reference and now recommended the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca for all age groups, including people older than 65 years, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Thursday.

For a complete vaccination, two AstraZeneca vaccine doses are necessary. According to STIKO, the time between the two vaccinations should be 12 weeks if possible.

STIKO previously recommended the vaccine only for people under 65 years and reiterated that the previous recommendation was "completely correct" based on the data available at that time.

Latvia

Although vaccination against COVID-19 already started in Latvia at the end of last year, the Baltic country has so far managed to immunize only around 3 percent of its population, according to the National Health Service's data.

The reason for the slow vaccination pace is a severe shortage of vaccine doses, as most of the vaccine deliveries are being either delayed or reduced.

The first vaccine doses have been administered to slightly more than 53,500 people and around 17,700 people have received both doses.

Medical and social care employees were the first to be given the vaccine in Latvia, and immunization of the country's senior population is currently underway.

Malta 

Malta has ordered the closure of the country's restaurants along with clubs, bars and places of entertainment until April 11 in a raft of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Robert Abela said here on Thursday.

Abela and his government are facing increased pressure to take decisive action to curb the spread of the virus following a new record of 362 daily cases registered between Wednesday and Thursday. Four more deaths were also announced -- two men and two women. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country has now reached 325, while the number of active cases has shot up to 3,128.

Cuba

Cuba on Thursday started phase 3 clinical trials of its Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine, Vicente Verez, director general of Cuba's Finlay Institute of Vaccines, told a press conference.

Cuba's Public Health Ministry on Thursday registered 807 new COVID-19 infections and three deaths, as part of a resurgence of the pandemic facing the Caribbean nation since January.

The ministry's national director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran said during his daily televised report that with these figures, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 53,308 and the death toll to 336.

Although the daily caseload dropped from the previous day by 107, Duran warned that "there has been a plateau in the last 15 days ... but there hasn't been a stable decline, with transmission in many parts of the country that requires the active and responsible participation of the entire population."

Ecuador 

Ecuador reported 263 new COVID-19 infections and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours, for a total of 289,735 cases and 11,192 deaths, the Public Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The country also registered 4,767 "probable deaths" due to COVID-19, according to the ministry's daily report.

Currently, 10 of the country's 24 provinces have a high incidence of community transmission, with Pichincha province and the country's capital Quito the most affected.

The ministry designed three vaccination phases with the goal of immunizing 60 percent of the population, or 9 million people, for which it has so far secured 20 million doses with different pharmaceutical companies around the world.

Belarus

Belarus reported 1,482 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking its total to 293,103, according to the country's health ministry.

There have been 1,469 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 283,508, the ministry added.

So far, 2,020 people have died of the disease in the country, including nine over the past 24 hours, it said.

Africa

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 3,937,028 as of Friday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union (AU), said the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 105,001, while 3,512,473 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.

South Africa

South Africa expects to miss its target of inoculating 1.5 million people by the end of this month because sufficient shots aren’t available.

“We expect now only to complete 700,000 vaccines by end of March,” Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla said in an online briefing on Friday. “We are expecting more Johnson & Johnson vaccines and some from Pfizer, but we will still be behind target. However, we hope to be back on track once production of the various vaccines ramps up.”

South Africa’s medicines regulator said on Thursday that it was at an advanced stage of reviewing an emergency use application for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

“Pfizer has engaged with SAHPRA via two regulatory pathways, that is registration for full commercial market access and Section 21 authorisation. The Section 21 application is in advanced stages of review,” Yuven Gounden, spokesman for the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), told Reuters.

A Section 21 application, normally valid for six months, is an instrument for emergency use access of a health product that is unregistered. AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was granted Section 21 approval by SAHPRA in January.

Switzerland

Switzerland unveiled a 1 billion Swiss franc (US$1.08 billion) plan on Friday to offer free coronavirus tests for its entire population as part of measures to ease the country’s exit from COVID-19 restrictions.

Under the proposals each person would be given five self-test kits per months, as soon as reliable tests are available, the government said, while all tests at pharmacies and testing centres will be free of charge.

Companies and schools should carry our repeated tests using pooled saliva samples to improve prevention and detect outbreaks early, it said. Workers at companies which test frequently could be exempt from quarantine requirements.

To ensure more testing is carried out, the government proposed to pay for the voluntary tests. It estimated the expanded testing scheme will cost more than 1 billion francs this year.

Morocco

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 485,147 on Thursday as 394 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.

The death toll mounted to 8,669 as 16 more patients died in the last 24 hours, the Moroccan Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 470,933 after 508 new ones were added, while 374 people were in intensive care units, the statement said.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent while the recovery rate is 97.1 percent.

Meanwhile, 3,820,097 people have received so far the first vaccine shot in the country, and 413,032 people have received the second dose.

Egypt

Egypt started on Thursday vaccinating the elderly people and patients with chronic diseases against COVID-19. 

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Health Minister Hala Zayed were present at one of Cairo medical centers to witness the two categories of citizens receiving their first shot of the anti-coronavirus vaccine.

Madbouly noted that the Health Ministry has launched a website to register those who would like to be vaccinated, adding that the government will work to increase the number of recipients of the vaccines.

Morocco

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 485,147 after 394 new cases were registered. Meanwhile, Morocco's death toll climbed to 8,669 as 16 more patients died, while its total number of recoveries increased by 508 to 470,933.

A total of 3,820,097 people have received the first vaccine shot in Morocco, including 413,032 who have received the second dose, since the North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of China's Sinopharm vaccines.   

Russia

Russia registered 11,024 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, slightly down from 11,385 a day earlier, the country's COVID-19 response center said Friday.

The national tally has thus increased to 4,301,159 with 88,285 deaths and 3,885,321 recoveries, the center said.

Moscow, Russia's worst-hit region, reported 1,757 new cases, taking its total to 987,041.

Algeria 

Algeria on Thursday reported six new deaths from the COVID-19, raising its death toll to 3,002.

The Algerian Ministry of Health confirmed 168 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the North African country to 122,761.

Meanwhile, 148 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 78,732, said the ministry in a statement.

The Pasteur Institute in Algeria announced Thursday that six new cases of COVID-19 variants have been detected in Algeria, the official APS news agency reported.

Kenya

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday flagged off the countrywide distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, saying health workers and frontline service providers will be the first in line to receive the injection.

Kenyatta said other groups of people that will be given priority during the vaccination campaign are teachers and defined emergency service providers.

"We met as the Cabinet and made it very clear that the first persons to be administered with this vaccine shall be our frontline health workers. That is category number one," said Kenyatta in a statement issued after the launch of the exercise in Kitengela, in the outskirts of Nairobi.

Kenyatta addressed foreign envoys serving in Kenya on Thursday, saying that there were positive developments in countries such as South Sudan and Sudan where peace and transitional processes remain on course, adding that Nairobi will continue playing its leading role as an anchor for regional peace and security.

"We remain firmly committed to our obligations and responsibilities at the East African Community, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)," he said in Nairobi during this year's annual presidential briefing to the diplomatic corps.

Nigeria

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, his deputy Yemi Osinbajo, as well as frontline health workers have been scheduled to receive the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility to the country, an official said on Thursday.

Faisal Shuaib, the executive director of the National Primarily Health Care Development Agency, which is coordinating the administering of vaccines in Nigeria, told reporters at a press briefing in Abuja that the frontline health workers would be vaccinated on Friday at the National Hospital, Abuja, while Buhari and Osinbajo would get their own shots on Saturday.

"The plan is to vaccinate the frontline health workers that work in the treatment center of the National Hospital," Shuaib said.

Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe has become the first African country to authorize the use of India’s only homegrown coronavirus vaccine, which the developers this week said showed strong efficacy.

The first batch of Covaxin, which was co-developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the Indian Council of Medical Research, is due to arrive shortly, the Indian Embassy in the southern African nation said on its Twitter account.