Vaccine bookings spike after Italy extends COVID pass

Bookings for coronavirus vaccines in Italy surged this week after the government announced that all employees must show evidence of a jab, negative test or recent recovery from COVID-19.

"On a national level, there was a generalized increase in bookings for the first dose of between 20% and 40% compared to last week," pandemic commissioner Francesco Figliuolo declared in a statement.

Reservations for a first jab on Saturday increased 35% from a week earlier, Figliuolo said, but did not give the actual figure.

According to government data, nearly 41 million people in Italy have so far been fully vaccinated — close to 76% of the population over the age of 12.

This week, the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi agreed to extend the so-called Green Pass to all public and private workplaces from October 15.

Since August, the pass was only needed to access indoor restaurant dining, museums and sporting events. 

Employees who do not comply will be considered to be absent without pay. Employees exempt from the vaccine on health grounds will be given free COVID tests.

Read below for more coronavirus news from around the world.

Europe

Germany logged 7,337 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, according to data released Sunday by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health authority for infectious diseases.

The country has reported 4,142,116 confirmed coronavirus cases and 92,958 coronavirus deaths, 

The nationwide seven-day incidence rate stood at  70.5 COVID-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. The figure had been 72 on Saturday and 80.2 on Sunday last week.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn gave a positive assessment of the nationwide vaccination campaign week. Associations, organizations, private initiatives and many volunteers have made the vaccination week from Monday to Sunday a success, he told the Funke Media Group.

"They have set up around 1,500 vaccination campaigns throughout Germany," Spahn added. 

Oceania

Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, will end its coronavirus lockdown in late October if vaccine targets are met.

"Lockdown will end. The [limited] reasons to leave your home and the curfew will no longer be in place," Victoria Premier Dan Andrews said, adding that a series of restrictions would still be enforced.

Australia has reported 1,607 new coronavirus cases as the country gradually shifts from trying to eliminate outbreaks to living with the virus. States and territories are also trying to ramp up vaccination efforts. 

Andrews said the state aims to have 80% of eligible people fully vaccinated against the virus by November 2 for the Melbourne Cup, Australia's most famous horse race.

About 43% of Victorians have been fully vaccinated and just over 46% people nationwide.

"We will do so cautiously, but make no mistake, we are opening this place up. There is no alternative," Andrews said.

We "cannot perennially or permanently suppress this virus. Lockdowns have been about buying time to get to 70% and 80% vaccination," he said. 

Middle East 

The United Arab Emirates central bank has said it sees increased risks of illicit financial flows emerging from the pandemic, including money-laundering and terrorism financing.

In a report published on Sunday, the bank said the use of unlicensed money service providers for money laundering surged during the coronavirus crisis in 2020, as well as the use of e-commerce to launder money.

"Widespread lockdowns have resulted in a significant surge in e-commerce. Due to limited ability to move funds and goods during the pandemic, illicit actors are turning to e-commerce as a money laundering tool," the report warned.

World

A "staggering" stockpile of 100 million COVID-19 vaccines will expire by December, new research suggests.

A study by research group Airfinity has been sent by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to politicians, ahead of a global vaccine summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

"We need a plan to distribute vaccines quickly," Brown, who served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, said in a statement.

"It will be a profound and collective political tragedy if this summit misses the opportunity to act with doses transferred immediately to poorer countries."

Out of 5.7 billion doses of vaccines administered around the world, only 2% have been in Africa.

mm, mvb/jlw (AFP, Reuters, dpa)