Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday that “the pandemic is over,” even though the country continues to grapple with coronavirus infections that kill hundreds of Americans daily, Reuters reported.

ASIA-PACIFIC

The southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu will resume production and life “in an orderly manner” from Monday following more than two weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns and other strict curbs, local authorities said on Sunday.

AMERICAS

Brazilian national health regulator Anvisa has approved the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech for children aged between six months and four years.

EUROPE

The annual Oktoberfest, one of the world’s largest festivals, kicked off in Munich on Saturday for the first time since 2019, marking the end of a two-year hiatus as a result of the pandemic.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The world may be edging toward a global recession as central banks across the world simultaneously hike interest rates to combat persistent inflation, the World Bank said on Thursday.

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rebounded in August as Americans ramped up purchases of motor vehicles and dined out more amid lower gasoline prices, but demand is cooling as the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates to fight inflation, Reuters reported.

VACCINES, TREATMENTS

The COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has delivered 1.72 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to 146 countries, GAVI data shows.

Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the basis that Omicron and the variant’s latest offshoots have likely rendered them obsolete.

Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) says WHO expands recommendation for Veklury (Remdesivir) to patients with severe disease in latest update to COVID-19 guidelines.