TOP HEADLINES 

· U.S. drugmaker Merck said the European Union's (EU) drug regulator has initiated a real-time review of its experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug for adults.

Under the procedure, also known as a "rolling review," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would assess data as soon as it becomes available, instead of waiting for a formal application when all required information has been gathered.

While vaccines are the primary weapon against COVID-19, Merck's experimental pill, called molnupiravir, could be a game-changer after studies showed it could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of contracting severe illness.

· Bayern Munich soccer star Joshua Kimmich has found himself at the center of a debate in Germany over the merits of vaccination against the virus. Kimmich confirmed over the weekend that he is yet to be vaccinated because of his own concerns about "a lack of long-term studies" into the effects of the vaccines. 

The player said he was still considering it and that it was "very possible that I will get vaccinated." Kimmich has denied being 'anti-vaccination.'

He is reportedly waiting for an inactivated vaccine. Which consists of virus particles, bacteria, or pathogens, that have been grown in culture, then killed to destroy disease-producing capacity. The most widely used inactivated vaccine is the Chinese produced Sinovac vaccine, which has not been approved for use in the EU. 

· The EMA has concluded that Moderna's booster vaccine may be given to people aged 18 years and above, at least six months after the second dose. It is the second booster vaccine to be approved in the EU.

"This follows data showing that a third dose of Spikevax given six to eight months after the second dose led to a rise in antibody levels in adults whose antibody levels were waning," the EMA said.

· Moderna announced that their vaccine generated a robust immune response in children aged six to 11 years and that it plans to submit the data to global regulators soon.

Moderna said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children, and safety was comparable to that previously seen in clinical trials of adolescents. It cited interim data that has yet to be peer-reviewed.

· Russia reported 1,106 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest figure since the start of the pandemic, amid a surge in new cases that have prompted authorities to reimpose partial lockdown measures.

The daily toll has hit new records in six of the past eight days. The state COVID-19 task force also reported 36,446 new infections, compared with 37,930 a day earlier.

Some regions imposed a workplace shutdown, and from Thursday, Moscow will introduce its tightest lockdown measures since June 2020, with only essential shops like supermarkets and pharmacies remaining open. Moscow schools are also closed, and unvaccinated over-60s in the capital have been ordered to stay at home for four months.

· The Dutch government may impose new restrictions to reduce pressure on hospitals struggling to deal with a swelling number of COVID-19 patients, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.

Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have been rising for a month and have reached their highest level since July in recent days, after most social distancing measures were dropped in late September.

The new wave of infections has driven up the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals faster than predicted this month, De Jonge said, and many hospitals are already cutting back regular care again to deal with coronavirus cases.

· Bulgaria reported record numbers of daily coronavirus deaths and infections, Tuesday, as a fourth wave of the disease is stretching the health system in the EU's least vaccinated country.

In the previous 24 hours, new infections topped 5,863 while 243 people died of the virus, official data showed. The pandemic has killed 23,316 people in Bulgaria.