EU doubles Covid vaccine order as Germany sees record deaths

The European Commission has reached a deal with drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech to doubles its order of their Covid vaccine. The move secures the EU nearly half the two firms’ global output of the jab this year. The Commission has come under fire recently for Europe’s slow vaccination rollout. Here’s Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explaining what the deal means for the bloc.
Deaths from the coronavirus have reached a new one-day high in Germany, despite an ongoing nationwide lockdown. Figures from the country’s public health agency show 1,188 Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours. And almost 32,000 new Covid-19 cases were recorded. That’s a little less than the previous peak in mid-December. But health officials warn actual numbers could be higher.