* Europe's medicines regulator has approved additional manufacturing sites for mRNA-based coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

* Switzerland ordered millions more doses of COVID-19 vaccine as it braced for a resurgent wave of coronavirus that could require more restrictions on public life.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Sydney's infections hit a daily record, putting parts of the health system under pressure, officials said, calling for vaccinations to be stepped up to stem the tide of hospital admissions.

* India will supply millions of additional vaccine doses to its states to try to inoculate all schoolteachers by early next month, as the country gradually resumes physical classes.

* Thailand's coronavirus task force called on pregnant women in the country to get vaccinated, citing a higher risk of deaths among those who become infected with the coronavirus.

AMERICAS

* New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed 12,000 more people died of COVID-19 than was reported under her disgraced predecessor, making good on her promise for greater transparency on just her second day leading the state.

* Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday a booster dose of its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine spurs a more than three-fold increase in antibodies against the coronavirus, as the company seeks US regulatory approval for a third injection.

* All City of Chicago employees and volunteers will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 15, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, adding that employees can apply for medical or religious exemptions.

* The unequal distribution of vaccines is the weak point in efforts to combat the disease in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organisation said.

* Brazil will give booster shots to people with compromised immune systems and those over 70 beginning in mid-September.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Less than a month into a vaccine booster drive, Israel is seeing signs of an impact on its high infection and severe illness rates fuelled by the fast-spreading Delta variant, officials and scientists say.

* Iran reported a record daily 709 deaths as the worst-hit country in the Middle East faced a fifth surge in infections.

* Nigeria has approved China's Sinopharm vaccine.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine sharply increased levels of antibodies, according to interim data from two early-stage trials.

* Protection offered by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines begins to fade within six months, underscoring the need for booster shots.

* Moderna Inc has completed the real-time review process needed for a full approval for its vaccine in people 18 and above.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global equity markets rose and the US dollar slipped, with investors more optimistic a day after the House of Representatives passed the $US3.5 trillion ($A4.8 trillion) budget framework and a top health official expressed confidence in fighting COVID-19.

* The fast-spreading Delta variant is likely to have only a limited impact on the euro zone economy, which remains on course for robust growth this year and next, European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said.

GLOBAL

DEATHS 4,473,000

CASES 214,536,791

RECOVERED 191,923,852

Australian Associated Press