200 mn jabs by my 100th day in office, says Biden

A US Border Patrol agent hands out masks to unaccompanied minors after some asylum seekers crossed the-Rio Grande into Texas. Pic/AFP

United States (US) President Joe Biden announced a new goal of administering 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Americans in his first 100 days in office. Biden made the announcement at a press conference here on Thursday which was his first since taking office on January 20, Xinhua news agency reported.

He had initially set the plan of having 100 million shots in the arms of Americans by his 100th day in office, but is now increasing the objective to 200 million.
"I know it's ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has come close to what we're doing," Biden told the media. "I believe we can do it," he added.

As of Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a total of 133 million COVID-19 vaccine shots had been administered, and that 14 per cent of the American population is fully vaccinated.

The federal government has a deal with Johnson & Johnson for delivery of 200 million doses, a CNBC News report said. The first half of that order expected by the end of June. Merck is helping to make J&J's shot, which is a single-dose vaccination. The administration also has deals with drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna for a combined 600 million doses.

Ireland to add more nations on COVID list

Irish Deputy PM Leo Varadkar said "a lot more countries" will be added to the government's list that requires incoming passengers to stay in mandatory hotel quarantine. Varadkar made the remarks on Thursday while briefing members of the lower house of the Irish Parliament about the COVID situation in the country.

Nepal relaxes Corona rules for passengers

Tourists flying into Nepal will no longer have to quarantine if they have a negative test result for COVID-19 upon arrival, officials said on Friday. Previously, visitors were required to undergo a week-long quarantine at their hotel and wait until the fifth day for a COVID-19 test, reports dpa news agency.

EU to invest $5.9 bn in health programme

The European Union (EU) will invest over five billion euros ($5.9 billion) in the EU Health Program, the Portuguese Presidency of the European Council. Portuguese Minister of Health Marta Temido said at a virtual conference on Thursday that the measure highlights the need to reinforce the strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic at national and European levels, reports Xinhua news agency. She said that "health diplomacy is not an option" for the member states but a "shared necessity".

UK COVID-19 legislation set to be extended

UK lawmakers have voted to extend the government's emergency COVID-19 legislation for another six months. The 2020 Coronavirus Act was passed by 484 votes to 76 with a majority of 408, paving the way for PM Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown, reports Xinhua news agency. The Coronavirus Act was fast-tracked through Parliament in four days in March 2020.

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