Nurses carry a cooler with doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in the Fuerte Apache neighborhood in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. As vaccination rates fall in the densely populated province of Buenos Aires which holds a third of the country's population authorities began a a door-to-door vaccination campaign Wednesday in an effort to ramp up immunization in the face of growing caseloads of the Delta variant. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Australian authorities began doling out emergency COVID-19 vaccine supplies on Thursday in the Sydney suburbs worst hit by an outbreak of the fast-moving Delta strain, as the country reported its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 infections.
* Norway will offer all 16- and 17-year-olds their first vaccine dose after those over 18 are fully vaccinated.
* Global miner Rio Tinto said it is collaborating with Western Australia's government to launch COVID-19 vaccination programs for communities in the Pilbara region, including its employees, families and contractors.
* Asian airlines are reporting high vaccination take-up rates among pilots and cabin crew as they wait for the region's tight pandemic-related border controls to be relaxed.
* The U.S. Transportation Department said it will limit some flights from Chinese carriers to 40% passenger capacity for four weeks after the Chinese government imposed similar limits on four United Airlines flights.
* COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available to Americans starting on Sept. 20, U.S. health officials said, citing data showing diminishing protection from the initial jabs as infections rise from the Delta variant.
* The superintendent of Florida's largest school district sought to impose a mask mandate, the latest chapter in the coronavirus political battle in the southern United States where new infections are highest.
* Vaccines effectiveness for people in American nursing homes and long-term care facilities has dropped since the Delta variant became dominant in the United States, government researchers said.
* Haiti's vaccination campaign has been stalled by Saturday's quake and medical personnel, equipment and logistical support is urgently needed to help the country deal with multiple health emergencies, the Pan American Health Organization said.
* Tunisia will relax its nightly curfew and cafes and restaurants will be allowed to remain open until 10 p.m., as part of an easing of anti-COVID restrictions.
* A British public health study has found that protection from either of the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines against the now prevalent Delta variant of the coronavirus weakens within three months.
* Children's noses may be better than adults' at defending against infection because of "pre-activated" immunity against the coronavirus, a new study suggests.
* Asian stocks slumped to their lowest levels this year and the dollar hit 10-month highs on Thursday as a double-whammy of worries about global growth and an end to central bank support drove nervous investors toward safety.
Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland