The US agency in charge of the Biden administration’s new rules requiring COVID-19 vaccination at many private workplaces faces stiff challenges in developing and enforcing the mandate.

Britain is set to expand the offer of a vaccine to all 12- to 15-year-olds, after top medical advisers said on Monday that children would benefit from reduced disruption to their education.

Singapore’s number of seriously ill patients doubled to a record 54 on Sunday from two days before, raising unexpected hurdles to reopening plans for the vaccination frontrunner, where 81 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

India is worried that growing complacency as infection rates and deaths decline could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the virus, said two health experts briefed on the matter.

Drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Monday it sees potential US emergency use authorisation for its experimental antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, before year-end.

Global deaths: 4,650,522
Global cases: 225,906,438