(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson’s newly authorized vaccine has started shipping, while a highly transmissible variant of coronavirus first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus has been detected in Britain for the first time.
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EUROPE
* Up to six cases of a highly transmissible variant of coronavirus first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus have been detected in Britain for the first time, English health officials said.
* The European Commission will present a proposal in March on creating an EU-wide digital COVID-19 vaccination passport that may allow Europeans to travel more freely over the peak summer holiday period.
* The number of people heading out to shops across Britain climbed 11% last week from a week earlier, in a sixth week of gains despite a national lockdown, market researcher Springboard said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Japanese government and ruling party officials are discussing possible additional cash payouts to low-income households to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
* A Chinese state-backed hacking group has in recent weeks targeted the IT systems of two Indian vaccine makers whose coronavirus shots are being used in the country’s immunisation campaign, cyber intelligence firm Cyfirma told Reuters.
* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inoculated with the first dose of a home-grown coronavirus vaccine, kicking off an expansion of the country’s immunisation campaign as infections rise in some big states.
* The mayor of Auckland called for residents to be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccines after New Zealand’s biggest city was thrown into its fourth pandemic lockdown over the weekend.
AMERICAS
* U.S. Democrats, anxious for Congress to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill within the next two weeks, have resolved a potential sticking point for getting the sweeping legislation through the narrowly divided Senate.
* Argentina received its biggest consignment of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, as it races to inoculate a good proportion of the population before the onset of the southern hemisphere winter.
* Mexico’s coronavirus czar Hugo Lopez-Gatell has been hospitalized over the past five days for COVID-19 treatment but is recovering well, a health official said, as the country marks the one-year anniversary of its first confirmed infection.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Ivory Coast launched the world’s first COVID-19 inoculation drive with doses imported from the COVAX sharing facility, a milestone in the race to extend vaccine access to poorer countries.
* Israel approved plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians with Israeli work permits, a step a rights group said did not go far enough to safeguard Palestinians in occupied territory.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 shot for widespread use, and U.S. officials said initial shipments would start on Sunday.
* Johnson & Johnson’s newly authorized vaccine has started shipping and its top executive said that Americans should be able to receive the single-dose shot within the next 24 to 48 hours, adding a third vaccine in the United States.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Oil prices rose on Monday, supported by optimism about COVID-19 vaccinations, a U.S. stimulus package and growing factory activity in Europe despite coronavirus restrictions.
* Turkey’s economy grew 5.9% in the fourth quarter and 1.8% in 2020 as a whole, annual data showed, emerging as one of only a few globally to avoid a contraction due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Compiled by Bartosz Dabrowski, editing by Ed Osmond)
