Data needed to determine the advisability of booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines is just weeks away, U.S. President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news EUROPE
* Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a vaccine summit being hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden must come up with a plan this week to transfer 100 million stockpiled vaccines to poorer countries before they reach their expiry date. * Britain simplified rules on Friday for international travel to England, including scrapping the need for fully vaccinated passengers to take expensive tests on arrival from low-risk countries.
ASIA-PACIFIC * New Zealand reported an upturn in cases after several days of lower numbers, as the country's largest city of Auckland awaits to hear if its lockdown restrictions will ease.
* Australia's New South Wales state reported its lowest rise in daily cases in more than three weeks as some lockdown restrictions were eased in Sydney amid higher vaccination levels. * India on Sunday reported 30,773 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 33.4 million, as it seeks to reopen the country to overseas tourists.
* Singapore's health ministry reported 1,012 new cases on Sunday, the highest since April last year. AMERICAS
* Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for broader approval. * World leaders are returning to the United Nations in New York this week with a focus on boosting efforts to fight both climate change and the pandemic.
* Brazil reported 935 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday and some 150,106 additional cases, an unusually large number due to what officials said was an adjustment in how case numbers are tabulated. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran's new government has approved the vaccine developed by U.S. firm Johnson & Johnson, a senior official said, as the Islamic Republic faces the fifth wave of infections. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Researchers are collecting samples from bats in northern Cambodia in a bid to understand the pandemic, returning to a region where a very similar virus was found in the animals a decade ago. ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares slid and the dollar held firm on Monday ahead of a week packed with no less than a dozen central bank meetings, highlighted by the Federal Reserve which is likely to take another step toward tapering. * The United Arab Emirates central bank sees increased risks of illicit financial flows emerging from the pandemic, including money-laundering and terrorism financing, it said in a report.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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