covax aimed to deliver 237 million vaccine doses by the end of may.llion doses have been shipped to poorer nations. that's partly because of the crisis in india. the serum institute of india is the largest single supplier to the covax scheme. but it's made none of its planned shipments since exports were suspended in march, leaving a shortfall of 140 million doses. india now says it will restart vaccine deliveries to covax and other countries by the end of the year. the gavi alliance, which co—runs covax with the who, says it hopes india's deliveries could resume in reduced quantity by the third quarter of the year. but the serum institute says it's committed to do everything it can to support india's own vaccination drive. let's talk about this with professor gavin yamey in durham, north carolina. he's the associate director for policy at duke university's global health institute and helped design the covax body. thank design the covax body. you so much forjoining us. how thank you so much forjoining us. how do you vaccinate the world. we have an how

we only paid half of our financial commitment to covax, so only $2 billion of the $4 billion the u.s.ledged to help purchase vaccines, so we need to take part in our global commitment and step up to the table and help all of the countries that are in a position to help distribute vaccines around the globe. i think with the who is doing is calling her bluff, saying if this is something you care about and it is important, did not you have left us no choice to talk about ip waivers, because we tried to bring everyone to the table and have failed. steve: maybe it is a negotiating tactic. he worked at research labs and johnson & johnson, and a lot of people will know astrazeneca, johnson & johnson, pfizer with the big firms who see and feel that these firms are making lots of money in the middle of this crisis and there is something that doesn't feel right about that. i know that bio is comprised of small firms not receiving government money and making investments. i would like to tell that story. i think it has been neglected in the discussion, and why would they do what they are doing if

teachers instructed to help with last month's elections. 140 million doses short — the international covax to ensure equal access to covid—19 vaccines is interrupted, as the serious outbreak in india stops large—scale exports. and fears of a covid—i9 outbreak at a hotel in rotterdam force four teams to withdraw from the opening ceremony of the eurovision song contest. hello, and welcome. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has brushed off international appeals for an immediate ceasefire in gaza, saying it will take time to restore calm. he says the military operation against palestinian militants will continue with full force. the un secretary general has appealed for an immediate end to the fighting — but in gaza, health officials say 42 people were killed in the latest israeli bombardment — among them ten children. meanwhile, israel says hamas has launched 3,000 rockets in the last week, killing ten israelis. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. not much is left of this street in the heart of gaza city, after the heaviest israeli strikes since this war started — and t

the international covax scheme, to ensure equal access to covid—19 vaccines, is interrupted as the seriousbreak in india stops large scale exports. and fears of a covid—i9 outbreak at a hotel in rotterdam force four teams to withdraw from the opening ceremony of the eurovision song contest. hello. thanks for joining hello. thanks forjoining us here on bbc news. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has brushed off international appeals for an immediate ceasefire in gaza, saying it will take time to restore calm. he says the military operation against palestinian militants will continue with full force. the un secretary general has appealed for an immediate end to the fighting but in gaza, health officials say 42 people were killed in the latest israeli bombardment — among them ten children. meanwhile, israel says hamas has launched 3,000 rockets in the last week, killing ten israelis. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. not much is left of this street in the heart of gaza city after the heaviest israeli strikes since this war started — and the deadliest day for palestini

blinken has focused on covax which is the u.n.am that builds up a fund to backseat -- vaccinate poorer nations. when asked if you want to be a leader but you are not sharing vaccines, he says we are a leader we are giving a lot of money to covax or than any oth country. he has defended the americans right to vaccinate its own population first. he has said it will be in a pop -- position shortly to share supplies. >> covax is the program set up to share fair access to vaccines. it is delivered over 49 million doses. it is procuring more vaccines regularly and this is the most recent. >> we are pleased to note that we have signed an agreement with moderna for 500 million doses of vaccine on behalf of covax. >> turned to india which is a massive source of coronavirus. last week, they represented 46% of all cases worldwide. today, india's g-7 delegation had to isolate after two cases were detected. the foreign minister joined the restf the meetings virtually. he did attend this meeting with the u.s. secretary of state on monday and al

we have a significant share going through covax.t will be an important means of bridging critical supply gaps that covax is facing now caused by the disruption of indian vaccine exports. but regardless of how much vaccine gets produced and how many vaccines the u.s. and other countries are able to send, ultimately, the impacts depends on getting shots into arms. that's why we are investing resources in country readiness and deployment. so u.s. aides have already provided $75 million of new funding to support vaccine readiness and more than 40 countries and with the new arp resources we will be expanding that dramatically to cover every country where we work. and so this process over the next year of expanding country readiness in sync with expanding supply is how we will hopefully bring an end to the acute phase of the pandemic. but of course, we've got a long way to go and a lot of work before that begins to really bring down cases. so we can't let that light at the end of the tunnel that is provided by vaccines to distract us from

lord ahmad pointed to the world health organization's covax programme, aimed at sharing vaccines aroundus until the global — the whole world is vaccinated effectively. and we are working, the noble lady will be aware of our efforts through the covax facility in particular. and as my right honourable friend, the prime minister has said repeatedly, that remains the primary source of ensuring equitable access around the world. in the commons, the next day, mps joined those calls for more support for the indian people. for more than a million britons with loved ones in india, this is a moment of fear and anxiety. the ties between our two countries are woven into the fabric of this nation, something that through my own heritage i am personally and acutely aware of. many britons of indian origin will have gone to work today in our nhs, in our care homes, helping us to carry us through this crisis, while desperately worried about loved ones in india. we can and must more. what i would say, she references words, not deeds. i think what you've seen over the weekend is deeds, not words. you were

we pledge another $2 million to covax for other countries to fulfill their pledges and we are working urgently with global partners on managing and supply to ensure there is enough vaccine for everyone everywhere. in addition to the united states has lent 4 million doses to united states and mexico and we expect to loan 60 million over the next two months. those will go to countries suffering the dangerous surges of the virus. needs, not politics, will guide our decisions that we will continue to provide ventilators and other ppe across the nation. we are working with partners hardest hit by the pandemic. no region of the world is suffering -- the burden has fallen hardest on the hard -- on the populations who can least afford it, pushing 19 million in latin america backing up already. we are focused on helping communities who who will -- who will have the hardest time recovering. finding ways of low income workers to find a living wage. helping under -- goes to the heart of our second priority, delivering opportunities for all people. too often, our governor -- government has gauged

we have a significant share going through covax.t will be an important means of bridging critical supply gaps that covax is facing now caused by the disruption of indian vaccine exports. but regardless of how much vaccine gets produced and how many vaccines the u.s. and other countries are able to send, ultimately, the impacts depends on getting shots into arms. that's why we are investing resources in country readiness and deployment. so u.s. aides have already provided $75 million of new funding to support vaccine readiness and more than 40 countries and with the new arp resources we will be expanding that dramatically to cover every country where we work. and so this process over the next year of expanding country readiness in sync with expanding supply is how we will hopefully bring an end to the acute phase of the pandemic. but of course, we've got a long way to go and a lot of work before that begins to really bring down cases. so we can't let that light at the end of the tunnel that is provided by vaccines to distract us from

we've pledged another $2 billion to covax which will provide as other countries fill fill their pledges. and working urgently with global partners on manufacturing and supply to ensure there'll be enough vaccine for everyone everywhere. in addition, the united states is lent 4 million to our neighbors in mexico and plan to share 630 million additional doses from our own supply over next two months. those doses will go to countries experiences most dangerous surgeses of the virus. need, not mr. speakers will guide our decisions. and we'll continue to provide ventilators, ppe, and other vital equipment across region also working with partners to help people hardest hit by the pandemic. no region of the world has a more crushing economic boat from covid according to the imf. the burden is fallen hardest on the populations who can least afford it. pushing 19 million people in latin america back into poverty. that's why we're focused on helping comupghts that will have hardest time recover. such as usid program to help low income workers find ways to earn a living amidst pandemic restriction

the aim of the covax scheme is to ensure all people in all countries get equal access to vaccines tout doses remain vastly unevenly distributed. and now, the pipeline providing vaccines to some of the world's poorest countries is being squeezed. as india continues its devastating battle against a raging outbreak, the country's prime minister has temporarily banned exports of covid—19 vaccines so that all doses can be used in country. the serum institute of india was due to supply around half of the two billion vaccines for covax this year, but nothing's been shipped since march, leaving a shortfall of around 140 million doses — which is due to rise to 190 million by the end ofjune. unfortunately, we are in a situation where we just don't know when the next set of doses will materialise. our hope is things will get back on track but of course the situation in india is uncertain itself. and how much of a concern is that? it's certainly a huge concern, and that's why we are calling on higher income countries that have access to doses to start sharing those doses now. but countries are n

if we look at this covax facility, a number of doses that have been distributed so far, in the tens ofillions, when of cose we need millions around the world to make a real difference -- we need billion around the world to make a real dierence. there was nothing substantial in the communiquÉ about numbers, for instance, about extra funding. brent: we know china's increasing influence around the world, that was high on the agenda. what do we know, richard, is there a common g-7 approach and how to deal with china -- in how to deal with china? >> china is absolutely a huge issue. if you look in the communiquÉ, there is a lot about china in there and a lot ofords of concern about all sorts of issues, about human rights abuses in tibet, on assault on freedoms in hong kong, on issues of security in the south and east china sea. on trade and investment practices -- a hugely long list of things. these are all areas where there was enough common understanding to put all of that into the communiquÉ, but how deep the unity on china goes is not really yet a sure thing. if we take germany, for ins

should they be giving them to covax?d they be going to those communities that perhaps don't have as much? >> first of all, we need to remember with the new variants circulating, we have a number of about three, that means a proportion of the population who have to be immunized to suppress transition needs to be very high. perhaps 85%. in western countries, we are not largely vaccinating children, making funny percent of the population. we are not going to get to that. -- making 20% of the population. we just need an awful lot more vaccine. there are all sorts of issues around that. paying for it, production, above all other things. there are issues around intellectual property. not just for the vaccines themselves, but the production capacity. we need to think carefully and clearly about how we can strengthen health systems to make sure the vaccines can distribute it. if we look back at what happened withiv many years ago, there was a lot of focus on making sure that the drugs were affordable. and they could actually be

but right now, i urge them to reconsider and instead donate vaccines to covax. income countries vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunise health and care workers. for more on the reasons behind the who warning here's professor martin mckee from the london school of hygiene & tropical medicine. if you look at what's been happening in india, you see why he is saying it and the same thing happening in nepal and neighbouring countries in asia. there's still a lot of potential for spread in africa that we have not seen yet. but there's a real risk there. as long as this virus continues to circulate, it will continue to mutate and that is the real worry. until we can get levels down everywhere, that means getting everyone vaccinated and as dr tedros said, such as the vaccination, it's a combination of the vaccination in the public health measures. then we can be more optimistic, but we're still far away from that. and the concept that the coronavirus is somewhere, it is everywhere. your priority in that case of the international community is to do what? prio

if countries immediately share doses of covax and if manufacturers prioritise covax, we can reach this diseases physician and professor of medicine at ucsf. she recently co—authored an article entitled "american kids can wait" arguing vaccines would be better given to those in the world more vulnerable to covid—i9. i put to her that some parents may not like the idea of vaccines for their children being delayed. we wrote this article more as a theoretical point that children are much less a risk of symptomatic or severe covid than adults and certainly health care workers in countries that are hard—hit are as we speak, dying without access to vaccines so that they can't even take care of people who are getting sick. so yes, it is a theoretical argument, we are not actually saying you have to take your doses and give them elsewhere but it brings up the larger issue of global equity. in brings up the larger issue of global equity-— global equity. in terms of measures _ global equity. in terms of measures that _ global equity. in terms of measures that wealthier. measures that wealthier co

a large part of the covax allocation was to come out of that serum in india. and because of the way the disease is rampaging through india, all of that vaccination, those doses of vaccination have now been essentially taken for domestic consumption in india. so you have to then look at different mechanisms for increasing production around the world. and we suggest what some of those might be. let me give you a specific example from the u.s. in the u.s. you have roughly 60 million doses of astrazeneca. it has not yet been given fda approval, but it has been used in different parts of the world, particularly africa. this vaccine is literally sitting on the shelves at the moment. if we were able to get that vaccine out of the u.s. and into africa, we would at a stroke double the amount of vaccine in africa. so there are some very important things we could do very practically to help the situation. here's another thing. yes it is true that we are not suggesting you can vaccinate the entirety of the developing world population in 2021. but we believe you can vaccin

immediately, impacting at least 90 million covax doses. the crisis in india is causing a crisis here. kenyan and other african nations, where lives depend on covax, are running out of vaccines. and tour guide, martin, is one of the very last kenyans to get his first-astrazeneca shot. >> i am feeling excited. i think we just have to wait and see what happens. >> reporter: kenya got around a million doses from covax. produced by india's serum institute. kenya's supply dries up in days. >> i am concerned, because there are supposed to be two shots. i am concerned but if it doesn't happen, what is the worst scenario? >> i want to assure you that nobody who has taken their first dose is going to miss out on their second dose. >> does this worry you? because, it seems, that it could be a scenario that the second doses don't come in time. >> very clearly, it worries me. and very clearly, the second doses will not come in time. >> reporter: a senior-humanitarian official, familiar with covax's plan, told cnn that the indian-vaccine supply isn't ex

the aim of the covax scheme is to ensure all people in all countries get equal access to vaccines toi9. some progress is being made, but doses remain vastly unevenly distributed. and now, the pipeline providing vaccines to some of the world's poorest countries is being squeezed. as india continues its devastating battle against a raging outbreak, the country's prime minister has temporarily banned exports of covid—i9 vaccines so that all doses can be used in—country. the serum institute of india was due to supply around half of the two billion vaccines for covax this year, but nothing's been shipped since march, leaving a shortfall of around 140 million doses — which is due to rise to 190 million by the end ofjune. unfortunately, we're in a situation where we just don't know when the next set of doses will materialise. our hope is things will get back on track, but of course, the situation in india is uncertain itself. and how much of a concern is that? it's certainly a huge concern, and that's why we are calling on higher—income countries that have access to doses to start sharing t

ahold of vaccines because they are a bit cheaper through covax, but nationally this country has onlyged to so far vaccinate 2.8%, rising to 3 as we speak, kim, of population, whilst the numbers of people being infected continue to rise, as does indeed the death toll. both the infection numbers for some 350,000, 360,000 a day and a daily death toll of around 4,000, both of those are considered underestimates. no conspiracy at work there, it's just a factor of this country, a lot of people will die unrecorded or their cause of death will not be recorded as covid. so things are actually worse here even than they look in terms of the numbers, kim. >> sam kiley in delhi, appreciate it. >>> hundreds of thousands of people are demanding the cancellation of the tokyo olympics. their petition is going straight to the hands of officials. we will talk about whether it could make a difference. >>> and a little later -- >> i was in my early 20s, i was a case of like just i don't want this job. >> yeah. >> i don't want to be here, i don't want to be doing this. look what it did to my mum? prince h

should they be giving them two covax and should they be giving to those communities who perhaps do nothat are circulating, we have a number of about over three anyway. that means the proportion of the population that have to be immunised to suppress transmission need to be very high. preps 85%. in western countries at the minute, we are not largely vaccinating children who make up about 20% of the population, some were not going to get to that. that is one thing just to bear in mind. the real issue is that we just need an awful lot more vaccine and there are all sorts of issue around that. paying for it in production among other things. there are issues around intellectual property, not just the vaccines themselves, but due to the vexing capacity. we need to think very carefully and clearly about how we can strengthen health systems to make sure the vaccines can be distributed. i think if we look at what happened to hiv many years ago, there was a focus on making sure the drugs were affordable. so they could actually be obtained in the country that we overlooked the need for the streng

barbara: the global covax facility needs $2 billion by june to secure vaccine supplies for the rest of20 to. -- barely 2022 -- and early 2022. at least 19 million doses of covid-19 vaccines at the end of june because of the virus surge in india. meanwhile, russia is agreed to supply unicef with enough doses of the sputnik vaccine for 110 million people. the delivery of the jab to the u.n. children's fund is subject to approval for emergency use by the world health organization. the russia direct investment and which markets the vaccine abroad says it will hold talks to get sputnik included in the covax facility. meanwhile, australia is the second-most populous state, victoria, his back on a one-week lockdown after a spike in cases. this comes after taiwan and malaysia imposed restrictions as case numbers rise. florence louis reports. florence: jimmy has been home on unpaid leave since the government tightened restrictions last week. the gymnasium he manages will be shut until mid june at earliest. >> it worries me a lot. if the situation gets worse, my income will be affected. i may no

there are mechanisms at the moment, covax is a very important mechanism. a large part of the covax allegation coming out of the institute in india and the way the disease is rampaging through india, all of that vaccination, those doses of vaccination have been taken for domestic consumption in india. you have to look at different mechanisms for increasing production around the world. let me give you a specific example from the u.s.. if the u.s. you have roughly 60 million doses of astrazeneca. it's not yet been given fda approval but it's been used in different parts of the world, particularly africa. this vaccine is literally sitting on the shelves at the moment. if you were able to get that vaccine out of the u.s. and into africa we would at a stroke double the amount of vaccine in africa. some very important things we could do very practically to help the situation. yes it's true and we are not suggesting you can vaccinate the entirety of the developing world population in 2021. we believe you can vaccinate the strategic parts of the population that are

yemen received its first shipment of vaccines and lake -- in late march thanks to covax vaccine sharing>> yemenis in the southern city move with purpose, not pausing for fear of the war but for the global pandemic. they march on, well-versed in surviving. that is bad news for these nurses at the hospital. there are no queues for the vaccine despite a spike in infections last month, a malnourished population, and a hobbled health system. it is yemen's third-largest city. >> i was surprised when i came to the medical center and found a low turnout. i got vaccinated along with my whole family. we were entirely convinced because pandemic is widespread and symptoms are intense. >> yemen was given three hunted 60,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine five weeks ago --300 thought -- three and a 60,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine five weeks ago. >> we started on april 21. there turnout has been very low. one reason is the religious belief many people have that taking a shot in ramadan breaks door fast. it is wrong but has led many people want to come, including many health workers. >> in th

to be very direct with you, with clear and genuine remark, these guys are more efficient than your covax the european union and my very good friends. >> reporter: the e.u. has helped elsewhere. it built crucial infrastructure for the vaccine campaign in serbia, hired 200 medical workers and shipped a fleet of special covid ambulance vehicles. the u.s. ambassador to serbia, anthony f. godfrey, waved off china's growing influence in serbia. >> frankly, the government of serbia has a right to be very proud of how well it's done in procuring vaccines. serbia is an independent country with its own foreign policy, its own economic policy. >> reporter: he stressed that most of serbia's economy remains tied not to the east, but to the west. >> it's my view, and the government of serbia's view, that serbia's future lies with europe and 70% of its economy is focused there. it's my hope, though, that our serbian partners will see the value of engaging with companies that are transparent that answer to stockholders and boards of directors rather than party officials. >> reporter: the price of the ch

if countries immediately share doses of covax and if manufacturers prioritise covax, we can reach thisng over the vaccine—reluctant. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines... president biden has been defending his plans for a six trillion dollar government spending spree — the biggest since the second world war. the us says it will impose sanctions on belarus after it diverted a passenger plane to arrest an opposition journalist at least 300,000 people are now known to have died in india�*s second wave of coronavirus — with may likely to be the deadliest month so far. but the true death toll could be several times higher especially in rural areas where the virus is now spreading. access to healthca re there is almost non—existent as our international correspondent orla guerin found when she travelled to bihar, one of the poorest areas in india. funeral pyres are now a prism for the pain of a nation. he is lost in grief for his mother, one of the latest victims of covid—i9 in the state of bihar. with so many dead across india, cremation costs have soared. some families here have b

covax is the programme set up to ensure fair access to vaccines.more vaccines regularly. this is the most recent. and we are pleased to note that has signed an agreement with moderna for 500 million doses of vaccine on behalf of covax. but it aims to vaccinate 20% of the populations of lower income countries by the end of the year. still much lower numbers than the g7 have managed to achieve. another proposal is this from india and south africa to waive the patent for the vaccine. it's supported by over 50 countries. it would lift the intellectual property for the vaccines as well as information on how to produce them. chris morten is from new york university school of law. he explains what the possible impact of this could be. the suspension would do things like clear the way for countries including india and south africa to authorise their local manufacturers to make covid vaccines. it would also lower export barriers. so if you have manufacturing in india, for example, they could share vaccines with other countries. the waiver has been opposed b

. >> the indian government is having to ban all vexports of covax doses so they can use it at home. the kour gtour guide here is ge his astrazeneca shot. >> i think we'll just have to wait and see what happens. >> kenya got around a million doses. kenya's supply dries up in days. >> i want to show you that nobody who has taken their first dose will miss out on their second dose. >> it worries me, and very clearly the second doses will not come in time. many are familiar with covax's plan and they say they're not expected to resume until june at best. and millions of astrazeneca doses promised by the biden administration won't be enough or come soon enough. neither will moderna's vaccine. what is the impact on that? >> the eximpact is it may have happened if there was equal access. >> researchers at duke university tracking yet another wave of the virus. >> they did put a lot of eggs in the basket and that is an account. it should not cash anyone by surprise. >> it may be too late. difd mckenzie, cnn johannesburg. >> a senior white house advisor with a new reason to get the vaccine.

the covax scheme, which was set up to help poorer countries get equal access to covid vaccines, facesen's jubilee next year. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. we've had a handful of governemnt pilot programmes over the past few months, but with the easing of lockdown restrictions, today marks the return of spectators to sports events. racing fans have been the first to benefit, courses have been allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity up to a maximum of a,000 fans at redcar lined the home straight to see miss houdini win one of this afternoon's races. spectators have also been allowed in at leicester and windsor. and the first race was at carlisle, where the excitement of having spectators back got a bit much for this runner, who got loose in the parade ring. a couple of important matches tonight, in the next half an hour bournemouth's championship playoff semifinal against brentford gets under way, with just over 2,000 fans there for the first leg there will also be a,500 fans at the other semifinal between barnsley and swansea at oakwell

jinshan: covax is one example and there are lots of bilateral help between laos.ing countries, although their population and size of outbreak is still very far from india, it's important to also pay attention to them because often times we go to the biggest outbreak. a lot of them, for example, laos, the surge is so much larger than india. it is important to pay attention to what place could be the next outbreak. haidi: jinshan hong with the latest. australia's moved to fine and jail their their new sit. -- for many people that are horrified by this, if you like there's a lot of people who approve -- it feels like there's a lot of people that approve of the situation here. >> it says that the political situation favors locked down and shut up. -- shut-outs. go back and look at the erecting of forced safe borders within australia. we are talking about many stockades within countries. the state border was once thought of as a bureaucratic holdback from the 19th century. many of these state leaders who respond to slightly different political intentions have found in

right now, i urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to covax. the reasons behind the w—h—o warning here's professor martin mckee from the london school of hygiene & tropical medicine. i think if you look at what is happening in india, you can see why he is saying it and also the same thing happening in nepal and some of the other neighbouring countries in asia. there's still a lot of potential for spread asia. there's still a lot of potentialfor spread in asia. there's still a lot of potential for spread in africa that we have not seen yet. clearly there is of risk there. as long as the fires continues to circulate, it will continue to mutate and that is the real worry. until we can get levels down everywhere, that means getting everybody vaccinated, and as doctor ted said, it's notjust the vaccination, it's a combination of the vaccination in the public health measure, then we can be more optimistic. but we are still far away from that yet. we understand the concept — away from that yet. we understand the concept if _ away from that yet. we und

the second is, you mentioned covax, which is a really— is, you mentioned covax, which is a really importantbiiiion— we were able to contribute $2 billion earlier this year, so that it can _ billion earlier this year, so that it can go — billion earlier this year, so that it can go to— billion earlier this year, so that it can go to market and procure more doses _ it can go to market and procure more doses but _ it can go to market and procure more doses. but we also need to work on supply— doses. but we also need to work on supply in— doses. but we also need to work on supply in two ways. first, there the aggregate _ supply in two ways. first, there the aggregate supply, what can we do to -et aggregate supply, what can we do to get more _ aggregate supply, what can we do to get more vaccines out there as quickly— get more vaccines out there as quickly as— get more vaccines out there as quickly as possible? through the major— quickly as possible? through the major suppliers? and then the second is, where _ major suppliers? and then the second is, where can— major suppliers? and then the seco

we know that covax is delivering vaccines. are you in it conversations with covax countries to deliver the rapid test? guest: so far, we have as major customers central european countries. we have germany, austria, france. we participate significantly in the soft testing markets. we received testing which puts everything in a regulatory frame. it is very solid now. on the emerging-market side, it is still not picking up yet, but it might create an opportunity for the future. manus: jochen schmitz, come and talk to us very soon. siemens healthineers cfo. the eu's beleaguered vaccine rollout is finally picking up, as we just heard from the cfo. the bloc has given around 150 million jobs. maria tadeo is tracking. have we turned a corner? i look at the data from germany, like three quarters of a million people in one day. there is a seismic shift here, isn't there? maria: yes, and you are very right, this is a rollout that was hit by so many issues at the beginning of the year. but if you look at the data, it does paint an optimis

covax is already 140 million doses behind schedule. in brussels, the head of the world trade organization met with top european unn officials on thursday, urging them to reverse their opposition to waiving patent rights for covid-19 vaccines. over 100 nations, led by south africa and india, said the move is desperately needed to increase the availability of vaccines in the global south. wto director-general ngozi okonjo-iweala pointed to idle factories in bangladesh, indonesia, pakistan, senegal, south africa, and thailand. she called vaccine inequity an unacceptable problem and urged european officials to act quickly to save lives. >> we should focus -- i want us to go fast because this is aut life. i n't want us to take years to negotiate this issue. amy: meanwhile, the people's vaccine alliance reports profits from covid vaccines have helped at least nine people become billionaires during the pandemic, with a combined wealth of over $19 billion -- more than enough to cover the cost of fully vaccinating all people in low-income count

we'll work with covax, the international organization set up, and other partners to ensure that the vaccines are delivered in a way that's equitable and follows the science and public health data. today's announcement to share 80 million doses is our next step as we ramp up the efforts to respond to covid-19 around the world. in the weeks ahead, working with the world's democracies, we'll coordinate a multilateral effort to end this pandemic. i expect to announce progress in this area at the g-7 summit in the united kingdom in june, which i plan on attending. this is a unique moment in history and it requires american leadership. but i want to be clear. beating this pandemic globally is beyond the capacity of any one nation, even the united states. but we will continue -- the united states will continue to donate our excess supply as that supply is delivered to us, but that won't be enough. we need -- what we need to do is lead an entirely new effort, an effort that works with the pharmaceutical companies and others and partner nations to vastly increase supply, most of it is here in the uni

this expands the list of vaccines that covax can buy and gives countries confidence to expedite theirroval and report and administer of vaccines. >> nepal is emerging as a coronavirus hotspot, daily cases hitting a record high thursday with more than 9000 infections compared to 300 last month. we have reports on this now from kathmandu. >> nepal's capital of kathmandu is in lockdown and the hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge of people infected by coronavirus. >> our emergency room had five beds but now we have 25 beds. we have added 20 beds in our emergency room, until now we have not returned anyone from here without providing them with oxygen. but the situation is getting complicated. next near the border with india, more workers from nepal are arriving home from indian cities stricken by covid-19. @@that adds to the health crisi. staff and hospitals are forced to turn away patients as beds and medical supplies are georges -- short supply -- are in short supply. cemeteries fill up as family say goodbye from a distae. an increasing number of climbers are arriving for the

teachers instructed to help with last month's elections. 140 million doses short — the international covax

the covax scheme, which was set up to help poorer countries get equal access to covid vaccines, faces severe supply shortage. and prince charles says plant a tree — to mark the queen's platinum jubilee next year. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson has urged people to exercise a �*heavy dose of caution�* as many covid restrictions are lifted across england, wales and much of scotland. the changes come amid growing fears about the spread of the indian variant in britain. let's take a closer look at some of the relaxations today. in england, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve people inside. cinemas, museums, softplay centres and hotels can also reopen. groups of six people, or two households, can meet indoors and stay overnight. 30 people are allowed to gather outdoors. many of the changes in wales are similar to england, but it's still only extended households that are allowed to meet in homes. up to 50 people can gather outside for organised activities and events, such as weddings. in most of scotland, six people from three households will be able to meet