Pedestrians walk near near a skating rink past signs requesting to wear protective face masks and to keep a social distance amid the coronavirus disease (COVID 19) outbreak, as heavy fog covers a square named after Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in S
The number of hospitalized U.S. coronavirus patients surpassed 100,000 on Thursday, as former presidents volunteered to get vaccinated on television if needed to boost confidence in the safety of inoculations.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open here
EUROPE
* France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all in its social security system and has earmarked some 1.5 billion euros ($1.82 billion) of next year's social security budget to cover the cost.
* Britain could pay 120,000 pounds ($161,676) to individuals who suffer from any severe side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines, the government said on Thursday, ahead of a rollout of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine in the country.
* A sharp fall in COVID-19 cases in Ireland is likely to stall following the ending on Dec. 1 of six weeks of strict lockdown.
* Portugal announced plans to vaccinate people against the coronavirus voluntarily and free of charge and said it hoped to inoculate nearly 10% of the population during the first phase that will kick off next month.
AMERICAS
* Anthony Fauci, the U.S. infectious diseases expert, criticised UK regulators for the swift approval of Pfizer's vaccine.
* U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has selected two former Obama administration officials to senior roles to help fight COVID-19, including the appointment of Jeff Zients as White House coronavirus coordinator, Politico reported.
* Canadian health authorities could approve Pfizer's vaccine within the next week, allowing distribution to start in early 2021.
* Chile extended a state of catastrophe that allows for the control of movement of people through curfews and lockdowns.
* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he hopes that distribution of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will begin this month.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Indonesia recorded its biggest daily rise in infections on Thursday, with its COVID-19 task force attributing the jump to a lag in some areas reporting cases.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* South Africa tightened some COVID-19 rules in the Eastern Cape province where infections are rising the most, curbing movement and gatherings, but decided against reinstating a nationwide lockdown.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Facebook said it would remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts, following a similar YouTube announcement in October.
* Brazil's Butantan Institute received 1 million doses of a Chinese vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech that is undergoing late-stage testing in the country.
* Sanofi will announce the price of the potential vaccine it is developing with GlaxoSmithKline after it releases Phase I/II results.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* World equity benchmarks rose along with safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury bonds as hopes for a vaccine-led economic recovery offset warnings the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic could spike in the coming weeks.
* Republicans in the U.S. Congress struck a more upbeat tone during coronavirus aid talks as they pushed for a slim $500 billion measure that previously was rejected by Democrats who say more money is needed to address the raging pandemic.
