World Coronavirus Dispatch: Pandemic upends France's eating habits

South Africa halts Oxford vaccine, Mexico's vaccine program sees disastrous launch, Cuba lifts ban on most private business and other pandemic-news across the globe

Oxford vaccine less effective against South Africa variant

The Oxford vaccine developed in partnership with Astrazeneca appears less effective against the highly contagious South African variant. In a devastating blow to the country's efforts to contain the pandemic, South Africa has halted the use of Astrazeneca jab following evidence that the shot did not prevent mild to moderate disease in trials there. The development, coming nearly a week after a million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine arrived in South Africa, was an enormous setback for the country, where more than 46,000 people are confirmed to have died from the virus.