As Africa struggles to stem vaccine inequity, biotechnology giants BioNTech and Moderna have announced plans to build factories on the continent.

The African Union has secured more than 100 million vaccine doses with partial help from the United States. Meanwhile, China will begin vaccinating children as young as 3 years old. Follow DW for more.

After testing on more than 800,000 children in Malawi, Ghana and Kenya, the WHO has recommended the use of a vaccine against malaria, a disease that kills nearly 400,000 people every year, mostly children under five. The jab is effective against one of the parasites that transmits the disease and reduces the risk of severe cases by 30 percent, which is enough to save tens of thousands of lives. Associated with other methods, it could drastically reduce the number of sick people each year. Could it even contain the epidemic? Our correspondents report.

BioNTech and Pfizer and said their vaccine is highly effective among children in the 5-11-year age group. Follow DW for the latest.

India is the second country to reach the milestone figure, after China did so in June. However, officials are worried over a gap between first and second doses.

On average, 40% of health professionals in the world are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 but this figure hides huge disparities between regions, regrets Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.

India celebrated the milestone of administering 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses on Thursday, with the government promoting the achievement with song.

At a World Health Organization press briefing on the Covid-19 pandemic, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, argues that maintaining unequal access to vaccines between rich and poor countries is not only "immoral" but also "stupid" because it risks allowing the rise of variants resistant to current vaccines.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children.

While the European Medicines Agency approved a third dose for people over 18-years-old, the agency said it was up to member states to decide whether to use them.

Wrapped in blankets, people wait overnight outside a vaccination centre to receive a second dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba, a day after the late arrival of 370,000 Component II doses.

The FDA's limited approval comes weeks after US President Joe Biden's administration announced a sweeping plan that would allow nearly all American adults to get a third shot.