(Reuters) – Novavax Inc on Monday said its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning variants of the coronavirus in a large, late-stage U.S.-based clinical trial.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed his plans to lift remaining COVID-19 curbs by a month, warning that thousands of more people might die if he did nothing because of the rapid spread of the more infectious Delta variant.
* COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90% against hospitalization from the Delta coronavirus variant, a new analysis by Public Health England showed.
* Norway now expects to receive 900,000 fewer Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine doses in the July-September quarter compared to what authorities had earlier anticipated, the health minister said.
* The Delta variant doubles the risk of hospitalization compared with the previously dominant variant in Britain, but two doses of vaccine still provide strong protection, a Scottish study found.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte extended partial coronavirus curbs in the capital and nearby provinces until end-June, but placed more areas under tighter quarantine measures because of rising infections and high hospital occupancy.
AMERICA
* Mexican health officials said the country will receive its first shipment of J&J vaccines on Tuesday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Africa will get priority treatment for the Group of Seven’s pledged 870 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, a senior World Health Organization adviser said on Monday.
* Johnson & Johnson will export more ready-to-administer COVID-19 vaccines to South Africa beyond the 300,000 doses already pledged, CEO of Aspen Pharmacare said.
* In Afghanistan, the two main hospitals treating people with COVID-19 have had to close their doors to new patients because of a lack of beds, a senior health official and doctors said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* South Korean drugmaker Celltrion announced positive results for its experimental antibody COVID-19 treatment.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global stock markets were mixed on Monday, U.S. Treasury yields ticked up and gold slid as investors prepared themselves for an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting and any clues on the trajectory of its unprecedented monetary stimulus. [MKTS/GLOB]
* The European Union began selling the first bond backing its recovery fund, according to a lead manager, a crucial step in financing member states’ economic recovery.
* The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support Botswana’s economic recovery efforts.
(Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Juliette Portala and Veronica Snoj; edited by Catherine Evans, Mark Heinrich and Arun Koyyur)
