One Minute Overview

WHO warns of 236,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by December - The World Health Organization has warned that another 236,000 people could die from COVID-19 in Europe by December 1, sounding the alarm over rising infections and stagnating vaccine rates on the continent. Countries across the region have seen infection rates tick up as the highly transmissible Delta variant takes hold, particularly among the unvaccinated.

COVID-19: Indonesia death rate in under-18s more than three times the world average - Indonesian doctors have seen a surge in COVID cases and deaths in children since July 2021 as the Delta variant spread. Under-18s make up 1% of COVID deaths in Indonesia - compared to the worldwide average of around 0.3%. Paediatricians tell Sky News that a surge in cases has been seen since the Delta variant became prevalent. More than 1,272 children have died in total according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

South Africa detects new coronavirus variant, still studying its mutations - The C.1.2 variant contains mutations present in WHO variants of concern. Scientists are now running lab tests to understand more about this new variant. It still appears to account for only a small share of South Africa's cases

Pfizer 'variant hunters' race to stay ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic - Hundreds of millions of doses have been injected worldwide, but at the Pearl River research center where the vaccine was created, the pace has not let up. A team of “variant hunters,” as they call themselves, race to track changes in the fast-mutating SARS-CoV-2. A “virus farmer” grows the latest variants so researchers can test how they fare against the vaccine. And a colleague known as the “graphing unicorn” converts the data into intelligible results overnight. The scientist leading all this work, Phil Dormitzer, was among the first to open the email bearing results of tests on how well Pfizer’s shot worked against Delta. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought the vaccine was indeed less protective against this wildfire of a variant. Then he looked again

England will suffer a worse Covid outbreak than Scotland following the return of children to schools, experts fear - Scotland has seen its infections spiral to record highs, with the uptick blamed on reopening schools. Experts fear England will be hit even harder by the virus with millions set to return to school later this week. Last September, Covid cases in England more than quadrupled after children returned to the classroom

COVID-19: Third coronavirus vaccines aren't 'luxury boosters' taken from people without their first, WHO Europe boss says - Third coronavirus vaccines are not 'luxury boosters' making vaccine inequity worse but a means of keeping the vulnerable safe, WHO's Europe director has said. Hans Kluge appeared to contradict his World Health Organisation (WHO) colleagues at a news briefing on Monday, saying third COVID-19 jabs are an important way of protecting the most clinically vulnerable. Earlier this month, WHO senior officials criticised countries such as the US and Israel for rolling out a booster vaccine programme, when many people across the world have had no jabs at all.

India's COVID vaccine supply jumps, raising export hopes - India's rising output of COVID-19 vaccines and the inoculation of more than half its adult population with at least one dose are raising hopes the country will return as an exporter within months, ramping up from early next year. After donating or selling 66 million doses to nearly 100 countries, India barred exports in the middle of April to focus on domestic immunisation as infections exploded, upsetting the inoculation plans of many African and South Asian countries.