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 Britain starts mass vaccination
A 90-year-old grandmother became the world's first person to receive
a fully-tested COVID-19 shot on Tuesday, as Britain began
mass-vaccinating its people in a global drive that poses one of the
biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.
Health workers started inoculating the most vulnerable with the
vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, with the country a test
case for the world as it contends with distributing a compound that
must be stored at -70C (-94F).
Russia and China have both already started giving domestically
produced vaccine candidates to their populations, though before
final safety and efficacy trials have been completed.
Trump to order priority access to vaccines for Americans
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday to
ensure that priority access for COVID-19 vaccines procured by the
U.S. government is given to the American people before assisting
other nations, senior administration officials said on Monday.
The Trump administration is confident it will have enough vaccine to
inoculate everyone who wants a vaccine by the end of the second
quarter of 2021, one official said.
It was unclear why an executive order was needed to ensure that the
vaccines would be distributed domestically first, though the order
appeared to be designed in part to underscore Trump's "America
First" philosophy.
South Korea easing dry ice rules for vaccine transport
South Korea more than tripled the number of coronavirus vaccine
containers aircraft can carry by easing limits on dry ice needed to
keep them cold, the country's deputy minister for aviation told
Reuters on Tuesday.
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South Korea said on Tuesday it signed deals to provide coronavirus vaccines for
44 million people next year, including from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna and
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen.
Airlines and governments round the globe are working on ways to establish cold
chain delivery systems for vaccines, like Pfizer's, which requires storage at
below minus 70 Celsius, and Moderna’s, which needs to be kept at -20C.
Hong Kong to limit dining, close gyms
Hong Kong said on Tuesday the city would once again ban dining in restaurants
after 6 p.m. and close all gyms and beauty salons, to curb a rise in coronavirus
cases in the densely packed financial hub.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government would also study additional
relief measures for the industries affected by the latest restrictions that take
effect on Thursday, having been enforced and lifted repeatedly this year.
"The situation is very worrying. This wave is more complicated and more severe
than the last wave. The confirmed cases are widely spread out," Lam told
reporters at a weekly media briefing.
Lions at Spanish zoo test positive
Four lions at Barcelona Zoo have tested positive for COVID-19, veterinary
authorities said on Tuesday, in only the second known case in which large
felines have contracted coronavirus.
They were tested after keepers noticed they showed slight symptoms and
authorities are investigating how they became infected.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes)
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