Hyderabad: The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 7,45,60,962 and killed over 16,55,758 people across the world. More than 5,23,95,275 people have recovered so far.
The US is the worst-hit nation with cases more than 1,73,94,314 and fatalities over 3,14,629.
New Zealand will start the mass vaccination against the coronavirus in the second half of 2021, the country's government said on Thursday in a statement.
The country has also signed agreements with two companies - AstraZeneca and Novavax - on purchasing 7.6 million and 10.72 million doses of vaccines, respectively. Before that, the country had already signed deals to buy vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, as well as by Janssen Pharmaceutica.
Italian authorities approved a national plan for COVID-19 mass vaccination on Wednesday after a meeting between the central government and regional governors.
The announcement came from Italy's Extraordinary Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency Domenico Arcuri, after the State-Regions Conference, which comprises cabinet ministers and governors of the 20 Italian regions, approved the mass vaccination program.
Read:| WHO: Vaccination in Asia-Pacific expected mid or late 2021
