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Germany's BioNTech should be able to adapt its coronavirus vaccine relatively quickly in response to the Omicron variant, its CEO Ugur Sahin said, adding that despite the mutation shots should continue to protect people against severe disease.

COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna that use mRNA technology provide the biggest boost to antibody levels when given 10-12 weeks after the second dose, a British study published on Thursday has found.

Asia-Pacific countries should boost their healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

South Korea announced on Friday that people visiting restaurants and cinemas and other public spaces will have to show vaccine passes, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections and six confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

Leaders of the world’s largest economies hailed a recent agreement to overhaul global corporate tax rules as key ensuring multinationals paid their fair share of tax.

The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a threefold higher risk of reinfection than the currently dominant Delta variant and the Beta strain, a group of South African health bodies said on Thursday.

Canada has discovered a total of 11 cases of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 and severe illness trends across the country could start to rise again, chief public health officer Theresa Tam told reporters on Friday.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, an alliance between General Electric Co and Japan's Hitachi Ltd will build a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) (ONPWG.UL), the Canadian utility said on Friday.

Europe crossed 75 million coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, as the region braces for the new Omicron variant at a time when hospitals in some countries are already strained by the current surge.

Dutch health authorities said on Friday they were worried that some passengers arriving from South Africa in the past week were testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival despite having been vaccinated and testing negative before their flight departure.