Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images 

President Joe Biden offered a Fourth of July goal for the U.S. to begin returning to normal as “light in the darkness” to a weary nation on Thursday, counting on a rapidly expanding supply of coronavirus vaccine to raise American hopes.

In his first prime-time address as president, Biden told states he wants all adults in the U.S. made eligible for vaccines by May 1.

Meanwhile, Germany is at the start of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, said Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute. In Italy, the government is weighing stringent new restrictions on as many as two-thirds of citizens, with the regions encompassing the country’s largest cities possibly heading into lockdown.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases pass 118.5 million; deaths top 2.6 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 334 million shots given worldwide
• Science will end pandemic, but ‘exit strategy’ needs work
• Vaccines fail to check Covid wave overwhelming Europe’s east
• Can a vaccinated person still spread the coronavirus?: QuickTake
• U.S. Spotlight: Covid drop nears point where other surges reignited

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.

Two-Thirds of Italians Set to Face Lockdown (5:53 p.m. HK)

Italy’s government will meet to decide whether to automatically designate regions as high-risk “red zones” if they have more than 250 weekly cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to officials who asked not to be named discussing confidential deliberations.

A new decree would likely go into effect starting Monday and could effectively send many regions, including those surrounding Milan and Rome, into full lockdown. The restrictions are expected to remain in force until April 6, covering the Easter holidays.

Novavax Jumps on Covid Study Results (5:33 p.m. HK)

Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine was 96.4% effective against mild, moderate and severe symptoms of the disease in the final analysis of a late-stage trial in the U.K. The shares climbed as much as 23% in U.S. premarket trading.

Philippine Reports Rising Case Numbers (5:28 p.m. HK)

Infections in the Philippines surged to more than 611,000, with 4,578 new cases on Friday -- the first time in six months to breach the 4,000 level. The government will step up monitoring of businesses to ensure compliance to mask-wearing, distancing and ventilation guidelines, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Germany on Cusp of Third Covid Wave, RKI Chief Says (5:17 p.m. HK)

Cases are rising rapidly among youths younger than 15 years, Wieler said at a press conference, adding that the country is seeing more outbreaks in nurseries than in late 2020.

The number of patients requiring hospitalization is also increasing, and some states are seeing an increase in the number of patients in intensive care units. There are signs the B.1.1.7 strain is behind the increase in nursery outbreaks, Wieler said.

Russia Says Vaccine Works Against U.K. Strain (5:15 p.m. HK)

Testing shows the Sputnik V vaccine is highly effective against the U.K. Covid-19 strain, Interfax reported, citing Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko. The vaccine’s effectiveness against the U.K. variant didn’t significantly differ from its results preventing infection from the original strain, according to Murashko.

Biden Outlines New Steps to Curb Virus (10:20 a.m. HK)

Biden said the U.S. was doubling the number of pharmacies and federal mass vaccination sites offering shots, and that he would deploy about 4,000 additional active-duty troops to assist in the effort.

The government will create a website and open a 1-800 number to help Americans find available shots, and offer technical support to states developing their own such services.

Biden said the U.S. must beat the virus to get the economy back on track and that children may have been set back a year or more by the pandemic. He said people will be able to get the vaccines in pharmacies “just like you get your flu shot,” but warned that things may get worse again as new variants spread.

He urged Americans to get a vaccine when they can -- a nod to the unknown number who are hesitant or don’t plan do. “I need you to get vaccinated when it’s your turn and when you can find an opportunity,” he said. He offered an incentive, saying it’ll be safe to have small July 4th holiday gatherings if things don’t regress. He pleaded with Americans to not let up and to stick with mitigation measures, like masks.

Germany Won’t Get J&J Shot Before Mid-April (2:41 p.m. HK)

Germany won’t receive deliveries of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine until mid or late April at the earliest, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.

“We of course want to know the exact reason for that, why other countries are getting deliveries,” Spahn said late Thursday in an interview with ARD television, adding that Germany has asked the European Commission to speak “very clearly” with the company.

Spahn also criticized the U.S. for blocking exports of vaccines and Covid tests. “We have seen this repeatedly over the past 12 months that certain products haven’t left the U.S. and I find that problematic for the transatlantic partnership,” he said. “We need to talk about this.”

Russia Wants to Vaccinate 1 in 10 on Planet (12:22 p.m. HK)

Russia is ramping up overseas output of its Covid-19 vaccine, pledging to supply shots to almost one in 10 people on the planet this year even as it’s produced only a tiny fraction of that so far.

“We have capacity to provide the vaccine to 700 million people outside Russia this year,” Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, which backed Sputnik V’s development and is in charge of its foreign roll-out, said in an interview Wednesday. “The biggest producers will be India, China and South Korea.”

Russia’s success in persuading so far around 50 countries to approve the shot has bolstered its global ambitions, with several million doses already delivered to Latin America led by Argentina and Mexico.

Vietnam, Australia Back Astra Vaccine (2:33 p.m. HK)

Vietnam will continue conducting AstraZeneca vaccinations, VnExpress news website reported, citing Dang Duc Anh, head of the National Expanded Immunization Project. There have been no blood clots among people who have been vaccinated in Vietnam, according to VnExpress, which quoted Anh, who is also director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that health authorities had not raised any concerns about the vaccine and would continue to monitor developments. Officials spoke with the European Medicines Agency overnight, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Thailand Suspends Use of AstraZeneca Shots (10:14 a.m. HK)

Thailand’s Health Ministry said that the nation would temporarily halt the use of AstraZeneca Plc vaccines until there’s more clarity from the investigations of possible blood clots.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha and some of his cabinet members who were scheduled to get their AstraZeneca shots on Friday, have postponed their appointments after suspensions of the vaccine in some European countries, including in Denmark, Italy and Norway.

Sanofi, Translate Bio Start Human Trial (2:35 p.m. HK)

The phase 1-2 study will assess safety, immune response and reactogenicity to the vaccine, after preclinical data showed high neutralizing antibody levels, Sanofi and Translate said in a statement.

The study expects to enroll 415 participants 18 and older at 13 sites; interim results expected in Q3 2021. It will evaluate MRT5500, an mRNA vaccine candidate. Participants will get one dose of MRT5500 or two 21 days apart.

Singapore Sees Travel Corridors for Vaccinated (2:31 p.m. HK)

Bilateral travel corridors for vaccinated passengers from countries with low to moderate infection rates may happen in the second half of this year, Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung says in a radio interview with Money FM 89.3

Ong suggests that Singapore could open to travelers from places with moderate Covid-19 infection rates but that have ongoing vaccination programs and combine those efforts with testing regimes to establish safe corridors

— With assistance by Lynn Thomasson