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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: The Anglo-Swedish pharma giant says US trials have shown its vaccine is 80 percent effective at preventing the disease in the elderly and does not increase the risk of blood clots. Trust in the controversy-hit vaccine in European countries has nose-dived, according to a survey by British pollsters YouGov. A majority of people in Germany, France, Spain and Italy now see the jab as unsafe, though it has an overwhelmingly positive image in Britain. Republic of Congo opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas dies of Covid-19 a day after presidential elections in which he was the main challenger. More than 6,000 mostly unmasked young people take part in an illegal carnival-type street party in the southern French city at the weekend, leading to nine arrests and condemnation of an "unacceptable" breach of rules. Germany is poised to prolong and tighten a partial lockdown into April as new cases soar, according to a draft document seen by AFP. Europe could have herd immunity by July, an EU commissioner says, with improving vaccine supplies expected to speed up the continent's sluggish rollout. AstraZeneca has delivered only 30 percent of the 90 million doses it promised the EU for the first quarter but 300-350 million doses of various jabs are expected between March and June. Brazil says it will lift its requirement for local authorities to reserve half their vaccine stockpiles for second doses, seeking to accelerate its lagging jab campaign and curb a deadly surge. The makers of the Russian vaccine accuse a top EU executive of being "biased" after he said the EU had no need of the Sputnik V. Russia has signed an agreement with an India-based pharmaceuticals giant to make up to 200 million Sputnik V doses a year. New Zealand is finalising a long-awaited travel bubble with Australia and will reveal next month when trips across the Tasman Sea can resume, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Taiwan kicks off its inoculation drive with two top officials getting AstraZeneca shots in a bid to boost public confidence in the vaccine. At least 2,716,035 people have died of coronavirus around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources. The United States is the worst-affected country with 542,359 deaths, followed by Brazil with 294,042, Mexico with 198,036, India with 159,967 and Britain with 126,155. bur-eab/fg/spm
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