Global inoculation drive continues
EU searching for new ways to fix vaccine struggles
The EU was to look for ways to end its vaccine struggles at a summit on Thursday, as a COVID-19 surge takes the death toll in Brazil past 300,000.
A crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic, vaccines were in the spotlight again with AstraZeneca revising down the efficacy of its shot from 79 to 76 percent after a US agency raised concerns about outdated numbers.
AstraZeneca's jab is also at the center of the EU's vaccine woes, with an infuriated Brussels tightening export controls after the firm failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc.
EU leaders were set to meet via video conference on Thursday to discuss AstraZeneca supplies, as well as new vaccine export rules that will weigh how needy countries are in terms of infection rates, how many jabs they have, and how readily they export doses to the bloc.
Britain, which has raced ahead with its immunization drive, is seen as one of the targets of the new export rules after a bitter spat over vaccine supplies.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the EU risked long-term damage to its reputation if it imposed "a blockade."
The talks come as Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands tighten restrictions to control surges in cases.
Mass vaccination programs are considered vital to ending the pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.7 million lives around the world, hammered the global economy and left much of humanity under punishing restrictions.
Governments are trying to ramp up vaccinations, racing against the virus which is surging once again in many parts of the world.
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll passed 300,000 on Wednesday, the second-highest number of fatalities in the world, with its hospitals pushed to the brink.
The AstraZeneca shot was hailed as a breakthrough because it is cheaper and easier to store and transport compared with other vaccines.
But beyond production and supply issues, it has faced other challenges that have dented confidence.
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had said the discrepancy was a "bump in the road" and that data would show it is "a good vaccine."
A crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic, vaccines were in the spotlight again with AstraZeneca revising down the efficacy of its shot from 79 to 76 percent after a US agency raised concerns about outdated numbers.
AstraZeneca's jab is also at the center of the EU's vaccine woes, with an infuriated Brussels tightening export controls after the firm failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc.
EU leaders were set to meet via video conference on Thursday to discuss AstraZeneca supplies, as well as new vaccine export rules that will weigh how needy countries are in terms of infection rates, how many jabs they have, and how readily they export doses to the bloc.
Britain, which has raced ahead with its immunization drive, is seen as one of the targets of the new export rules after a bitter spat over vaccine supplies.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the EU risked long-term damage to its reputation if it imposed "a blockade."
The talks come as Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands tighten restrictions to control surges in cases.
Mass vaccination programs are considered vital to ending the pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.7 million lives around the world, hammered the global economy and left much of humanity under punishing restrictions.
Governments are trying to ramp up vaccinations, racing against the virus which is surging once again in many parts of the world.
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll passed 300,000 on Wednesday, the second-highest number of fatalities in the world, with its hospitals pushed to the brink.
The AstraZeneca shot was hailed as a breakthrough because it is cheaper and easier to store and transport compared with other vaccines.
But beyond production and supply issues, it has faced other challenges that have dented confidence.
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had said the discrepancy was a "bump in the road" and that data would show it is "a good vaccine."
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