AFP bureaus

Even as vaccinations ramp up in Europe and North America, global infections have surged to more than 82 million.

Across the world, people were still being urged to respect social distancing guidelines.

The United States -- the worst-hit country in the world -- has already started inoculations, and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that more than one million people have been vaccinated.

Pressure has been mounting on the European Union since Britain and the US started their immunisation programmes, using a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The US National Security Council said Sunday that senior federal officials will be among those given priority access to keep the government functioning.

"Vaccines do not equal zero Covid," said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan, adding that not everyone will be able to receive it early next year.

Lockdown fatigue is spreading even as governments unfurl new measures to save healthcare systems from collapse.

FDA vaccine advisors will meet December 10 to discuss approval.

Concerns of a resurgence also remain in parts of the world that have largely brought their caseloads under control.

Despite encouraging news on the medical front, rising infection and death rates have left many governments struggling to cope.

Pfizer said tests involving more than 40,000 people had provided results that were a "critical milestone" in the search for a vaccine.

As the fatalities climbed, US President Donald Trump admitted he had tried to minimise the seriousness of the Covid-19 threat at the start of the pandemic.

The company said that in large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance but must be reviewed independently.

The patient, a 33-year-old man living in Hong Kong, had tested positive in March, but after two negative tests was found to be positive again in August.

Fresh clusters have been reported in countries that had previously brought their outbreaks under control.

Even with efforts in place to contain the virus, COVID-19 has killed more than 661,000 people around the world.

The World Health Organization argued against a wholesale closing of borders.

WHO says Brazil and India had recently reported highest daily increases, while figures remain worryingly high in the US and South Africa.

The United States, the hardest-hit country, has more than 2.5 million cases alone.

The crisis could provoke the region's "worst recession in history."

As of 1900 GMT, a total of 400,581 deaths were recorded worldwide.