Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 95% effective in final trial

Tens of millions of working Americans will need to be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19 by early January under new government rules. Companies that fail to comply could be fined thousands of dollars.

Younger people have a higher risk of heart inflammation with a Moderna shot, the country's vaccine advisory committee has said. It also advises on the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine to all pregnant women.

An expert panel has just given the green light to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 in Israel — the first country to offer booster shots. It has also tightened its green pass system to keep the economy and schools open.

CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement that the pill could drastically cut deaths and hospitalizations. The Biden adminstration is set to announce that it will order at least 10 million courses of the pill.

German officers have detained 12 individuals suspected of involvement in the manufacture and sale of falsified COVID-19 vaccine passports. The counterfeits are believed to have been sold for up to €400 each.

The lockdown starting Monday is expected to last 10 days and a vaccine mandate is set to start in February. Data shows the seven-day incidence rate in the country at around 1,000 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Vaccine equity campaigners have long warned the EU that sharing doses was essential to prevent new variants emerging. EU countries made big promises on vaccine donations, but have so far struggled to deliver. Why?

Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan does not think that his son will compete at the Australian Open because of COVID-19 vaccination rules in Australia.

FRANCE 24 spoke to the EU's Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton about several issues, including the threat of the omicron Covid-19 variant worldwide; the possibility of easing intellectual property rules on vaccines to get more doses out to lower-income countries; and the state of relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

German doctors and their staff have been facing aggression and threats from vaccine opponents. They have described having frayed nerves as pandemic fatigue sets in among patients and medical staff.

The court has agreed to hear arguments about the Biden administration's vaccine or testing requirement for large employers, and a separate vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.

The head of the World Health Organization says rich countries are merely prolonging the pandemic by fueling vaccine inequality. "No country can boost its way out of the pandemic," he says.