The EU’s medicines agency will give Europeans this afternoon its decision on the safety of the Oxford-AstraZeneca drug, after 15 countries suspended its use over a small number of blood clots. On Tuesday the agency said the benefits of the drug outweighed the risks of side effects. The World Health Organization says there's no proven link and the leaders of Italy and France say they’ll resume using the vaccine quickly if it’s given the green light.
French leaders will this evening announce new measures aimed at slowing a “third wave” of Covid. A year after France’s first lockdown, Prime Minister Jean Castex will announce additional curbs from this weekend for the greater Paris and northern Hauts-de-France regions.
Norway has recorded its second highest daily number of infections so far, with 1,064 cases.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will take part in a memorial ceremony in Bergamo this morning as part of a national day to remember more than 100,000 Covid victims. Bergamo is heavily symbolic for Italians as it was where military trucks were pictured last year transporting coffins out of the city.
A Danish study suggests 80% of people who catch Covid are protected against further infection, although immunity falls after six months. But the study of PCR tests by the Statens Serum Institute also finds that only 47% of over-65s have the same protection. Researcher Steen Ethelberg says even if you have had Covid it would be a good idea to get vaccinated.
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