US vaccination drive gathers pace

• UN says teachers should receive vaccine on priority basis  

• Oxfam says third of world's people get no state aid during pandemic 

The United States kicked off a mass vaccination drive Monday hoping to turn the tide on the world's biggest coronavirus outbreak, as the nation's death toll passed a staggering 300,000.

The start of the desperately awaited vaccine program coincided with several European countries announcing new lockdowns amid spiraling infections, highlighting the long road to ending the global pandemic.

The vaccinations come at one of the darkest phases of the pandemic, with cases in the US and many other countries soaring, and health experts struggling against vaccine skepticism, lockdown fatigue and uneven adherence to safety rules.

An initial 2.9 million doses are set to be delivered to 636 sites around the country by Wednesday, with officials saying 20 million Americans could receive the two-shot regimen by year end, and 100 million by March.

The coronavirus has killed at least 1,621,397 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP yesterday.

In Britain, Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that London will move into the highest level of restrictions from today with theatres, pubs and restaurants forced to close except for takeaway food.

Hancock said scientists had identified a "new variant" of the virus in the south of England that may be causing infections to spread faster, though he added it was "highly unlikely to fail to respond to a vaccine." WHO Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Mike Ryan said that there was no evidence to suggest that the mutation will impact the effectiveness of vaccines against the disease.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said schools and all non-essential shops would shut from Tuesday for five weeks over Christmas, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a nationwide curfew from December 31 to January 4.

Germany also will enter a partial lockdown from today with non-essential shops and schools closed.

The head of the UN children's agency, UNICEF, called Tuesday for teachers to be among those given priority access to the Covid-19 vaccines.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on children's education around the globe. Vaccinating teachers is a critical step towards putting it back on track," UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

Teachers should be "prioritized to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, once frontline health personnel and high-risk populations are vaccinated," she said. "This will help protect teachers from the virus, allow them to teach in person, and ultimately keep schools open."

Meanwhile, Oxfam yesterday said that more than a third of the world's population - some 2.7 billion people - has not received government aid during the coronavirus pandemic.

An analysis of World Bank data conducted by the Nairobi-based charity found that while $9.8 trillion of aid was spent by 36 wealthy nations, 59 low-income countries spent only $42 billion to cope with the economic fallout of the pandemic.