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BioNTech SE said on Monday it had started work on a vaccine tailored to Omicron, the worrying new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, though it was not yet clear if it would have to rework its established COVID-19 shot.

President Joe Biden sought to reassure Americans on Monday that the United States was prepared to handle the new COVID-19 Omicron variant, pledging to accelerate development of vaccines to handle it if necessary.

Aspen Pharmacare is in advanced discussions over a potential licensing agreement to package the COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, it said on Monday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot, as it looks to tackle a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that is quickly spreading across the globe.

A federal judge on Monday blocked in 10 states a Biden administration vaccine requirement, finding the agency that issued the rule mandating healthcare workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus likely exceeded its authority.

Britain's health minister Sajid Javid said on Sunday he expected to receive advice imminently on whether the government can broaden a booster shot programme to try to weaken the impact of the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant.

Austria has detected its first suspected case of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in the Tirol, authorities in the alpine region said late on Saturday.

Ghana will ramp up its COVID-19 inoculation campaign next month and make the vaccine mandatory for targeted groups including all public sector and health workers from Jan. 22, health service director general Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said on Sunday.

Several thousand people protested in Prague against anti-coronavirus restrictions on Sunday as many Czech hospitals halted non-urgent procedures in the face of one of the world's fastest rates of new infections.

General Electric Co's plan to spin off energy units into a standalone company could attract investors looking for a well-known name in renewables if they can overlook legacy fossil-fuel operations, financial experts said.