PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
The roll-out of vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic will not by itself eliminate the coronavirus, the World Health Organization says.
“Vaccines do not equal zero Covid,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan says. “By themselves, they will not do the job…the vaccine will not be with everyone early next year”.
Britain insists its world-first approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine involved “robust clinical trials in line with international standards” after US and European officials queried the rapid process.
Leading US infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci said on Thursday the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had “rushed” approval but he later apologized.
Spain plans to vaccinate at least a third of its 47 million residents against Covid-19 by June, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says, with the immunization campaign to start in January.
With European nations at odds over whether to reopen ski stations, Switzerland says its winter resorts can open over Christmas with tighter protection measures — while amateur festive sing-songs are banned.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faces calls to cancel customary pre-Christmas parties — one for foreign ambassadors in Washington and another for the families of US diplomats stationed overseas — amid fears they will become “superspreader” events.
The pandemic accelerates again in Latin America and the Caribbean with an 18 percent jump in infections in a week.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expresses outrage after scientists advising the government on managing the Covid-19 pandemic received threats.
The world death toll from Covid-19 is over 1.5 million with cases topping 65 million, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Friday.
The worst affected country is the US with 276,401 deaths, followed by Brazil with 175,270 deaths, India with 139,188, Mexico with 108,173 and the United Kingdom with 60,113.
US employers added a disappointing 245,000 new jobs in November, the Labor Department reports, in a sign the recovery of the US economy is stalling amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, and ramping up pressure on politicians to agree on a new relief package.
Organizers say the delayed Tokyo Olympics will cost an extra $2.4 billion because of its postponement and a raft of pandemic health measures have ballooned an already controversial budget.APP

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