(Reuters) - Nearly a dozen countries resumed use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shots on Friday as EU and British regulators said its benefits outweighed any risks. Reports of rare instances of blood clotting had temporarily halted inoculations.
* The African Union said African countries should continue to use AstraZeneca’s vaccine, echoing WHO by saying the shot’s benefits outweighed risks.
* Germany’s health minister said rising infections could mean that curbs to slow the spread of the virus may have to be re-imposed.
* A French government spokesman said there was no reason for France to reject the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine, as Paris and parts of the north entered a month-long lockdown. ...
* Hungary can start the first stage of easing restrictions once another million citizens have been vaccinated, the prime minister said.
* Greece considers lifting some restrictions as part of a plan for gradually re-opening its fragile economy.
* Britain will slow its vaccine rollout next month due to a supply crunch caused by a delay in a shipment of millions of AstraZeneca shots from India and the need to test a large batch. ...
* The Canadian province of Ontario is entering a third wave of the pandemic, Chief Medical Officer David Williams said, though he added that it was not clear how quickly infections would rise. ...
* As Brazil’s outbreak spirals out of control, the country is facing a dangerous new shortage, threatening to drive fatalities even higher: lack of staff in intensive care units.
* Australia welcomed the European drug regulator’s decision to back the AstraZeneca vaccine after a safety investigation as authorities ramp up the country’s immunisation drive next week.
* India’s infections surged to more than a three-month high, led by a record daily increase in the western state of Maharashtra.
* South Korea’s capital, Seoul, will scrap a controversial order for all foreign workers to be tested, after an outcry sparked complaints by embassies and a human rights probe. ...
ALSO SEE: Associated Press roundup of European developments
