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Here's the belated COVID-19 summary for Thursday.
Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on March 4
In Canada, more provinces are looking at extending the time between first and second shots. BC and Quebec have been doing this for a while, but more will likely follow as federal public health officials state that it is now recommended practice based on sound real world evidence.
In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro will have new restrictions starting Friday, including a curfew from 11 pm to 5 am. Restaurants must close at 5 pm and nightclubs will close completely. The new restrictions will last until the 11th of March. Brazil is currently going through another pandemic wave, with record numbers of deaths.
The EU have blocked a shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia at the request of Italy.
The EU have begun review of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, potentially leading for approval of its use in the EU.
Germany have approved using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on people aged 65 and older.
Poland will increase the time between shots of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine to 42 days. Presumably they see this as the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
Kenya received more than a million doses of the Oxford vaccine this week.
Egypt have moved on to vaccinating the elderly and people with chronic diseases. They had been vaccinating medical staff up until now.
Sir Lanka have approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on March 4
In Canada, more provinces are looking at extending the time between first and second shots. BC and Quebec have been doing this for a while, but more will likely follow as federal public health officials state that it is now recommended practice based on sound real world evidence.
Some provinces are weighing revised immunization rollouts a day after a federal vaccine advisory committee recommended stretching out the time between COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that the maximum interval between the first and second doses of all three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada should increase to four months due to limited supplies.
On Thursday, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, backed up the advice, saying it is based on real-world data that shows doing so would lead to more people being protected from COVID-19 in a shorter time period.
In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro will have new restrictions starting Friday, including a curfew from 11 pm to 5 am. Restaurants must close at 5 pm and nightclubs will close completely. The new restrictions will last until the 11th of March. Brazil is currently going through another pandemic wave, with record numbers of deaths.
In the Americas, Brazil's second-biggest city of Rio de Janeiro will be the latest to adopt new COVID-related restrictions on Friday, including a night curfew, in a bid to slow a deadly second wave that is ravaging the South American country.
The city of 6.7 million people will impose a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and order restaurants to close at 5 p.m., while certain businesses, such as clubs, will be shut altogether, according to information published in the city's official bulletin on Thursday.
While COVID-19 deaths and infections are falling globally, that is not the case in Brazil, where a record 1,910 people died from the virus on Wednesday. In response, various states and cities have adopted new restrictions on commerce in recent days, including the Federal District, home of capital Brasilia, and Sao Paulo state, Brazil's most populous.
The new restrictions in Rio are due to last through March 11.
The EU have blocked a shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia at the request of Italy.
In Europe, a shipment of over a quarter million AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines destined for Australia has been blocked from leaving the European Union, in the first use of an export control system instituted by the bloc to make sure big pharmaceutical companies would respect their contracts.
The EU have begun review of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, potentially leading for approval of its use in the EU.
Meanwhile, the EU's medicines regulator said on Thursday it has started a real-time review of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia's Gamaleya Institute for possible approval in the region.
Germany have approved using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on people aged 65 and older.
Around the bloc, Germany's health minister says the country's independent vaccine committee has formally approved giving the AstraZeneca shot to people age 65 and over.
Poland will increase the time between shots of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine to 42 days. Presumably they see this as the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
In Poland, the government is extending the time between administering the two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to 42 days, with officials saying they want to increase the number of people getting vaccinated.
Kenya received more than a million doses of the Oxford vaccine this week.
In Africa, Kenya received over a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week, while Rwanda said it was the first in Africa to secure shots from Pfizer.
Egypt have moved on to vaccinating the elderly and people with chronic diseases. They had been vaccinating medical staff up until now.
Egypt, meanwhile, expanded its vaccination rollout to include the elderly and people with chronic diseases after several weeks of vaccinating medical staff.
Sir Lanka have approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Sri Lanka's drug regulatory body has approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine as the second available for use in the Indian Ocean island nation.