Coronavirus digest: WHO says 60% immunization rate needed to curb pandemic

The World Health Organization has said that at least 60% of the world's population will need to be immunized against COVID-19 to make an impact on infection rates. All the latest from DW here.

Around 60 to 70% of the population needs to be immunized against coronavirus in order for infections to be effective, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced.

This rate is based on several modelling studies, the head of the WHO's vaccine department, Katherine O'Brien, told a press conference in Geneva.

"It's really important that we get more information about the vaccines," she said.

In recent days, three vaccines have reported promising trial results: from AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.

Read more: Coronavirus vaccine — how to distribute it around the world?

WHO spokesman Mike Ryan also said it would be "highly speculative" to say that the virus did not emerge in China. Chinese state media has been reporting that the virus, which was allegedly first discovered in a food market in the city of Wuhan, actually originated abroad.

DW covers Friday's latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:

Americas

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Canadian military will play a leading role in distributing the coronavirus vaccine, when it is ready. Officials are concerned about reaching far-flung regions, particularly in the sparsely-populated north of the world's second-largest country.

In the United States, Black Friday crowds were diminished. Traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, retailers moved online. Large shops like Walmart sent out staff to manage numbers in stores and take customers' temperatures.

Read more: Opinion: Boycotting Black Friday is a waste of time

Asia

North Korean hackers have regularly attempted to hack South Korean labs for information about a potential vaccine, Seoul has said. Lawmakers said the cyberattacks had been unsuccessful so far.

In India, five patients were killed when a fire broke out at a COVID-19 ward. This is the fourth blaze at a specialized hospital in the country since the pandemic

began, leading to angry questions from the Supreme Court. Europe

Ireland has announced it will ease its lockdown next week, allowing restaurants and gyms to reopen. Travel will be permitted from December 18, allowing a "different but special" Christmas, Prime Minister Micheal Martin announced. Belgium will also ease its lockdown from December 1.

France and Spain have both recorded slightly lower numbers of daily cases than the day before. There were 12,459 new cases in France, down from 13,563 the day before, while Spain recorded 10,853, down from 12,000 on Thursday. Authorities hope this indicates a downward trend.

A German doctor on trial in Munich for anti-doping offenses has offered up two of his special fridges to store coronavirus vaccines. The prosecutor welcomed the offer of the fridges, which can each hold around 10,000 doses of the vaccine, but said: "I don't want to belittle your heroism, but you wouldn't have got the equipment anyway."

ed/jlw (AP, dpa, Reuters)