us Covid: US rules out federal vaccine passports The White House has ruled out introducing mandatory federal Covid-19 vaccination passports, saying citizens' privacy and rights should be protected. Schemes to introduce such passports have been touted around the world as a way to enable safe circulation of people while fighting the pandemic. But critics say such documents could be discriminatory. The US said it did not and would not support a "system that requires Americans to carry a credential". brazil Covid: Brazil has more than 4,000 deaths in 24 hours for first time Hospitals are overcrowded, with people dying as they wait for treatment in some cities, and the health system is on the brink of collapse in many areas. The country's total death toll is now almost 337,000, second only to the US. quebec Teenager dies of COVID-19 in Montreal, youngest victim of pandemic in Quebec A 16-year-old Quebecer died of complications from COVID-19 at a Montreal pediatric hospital last week. The teenager is the youngest person in the province to have died of the disease. Deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 are extremely rare in teenagers and children. Only one other person under 20 years old has died of the disease in Quebec.

clotting AstraZeneca vaccine: Blood clot symptoms to look out for DR AMIR Amir Khan has shared three blood clot symptoms recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine jab should know about. The warning comes as investigations continue into potential links between the AstraZeneca jab and blood clots. Dr Khan appeared on Wednesday morning’s instalment of Good Morning Britain alongside hosts Adil Ray and Ranvir Singh. Dr Amir said: "It is common to get minimal side effects after having the vaccine such as headaches, a temperature, fevers, chills, but if your headache persists beyond four days after having the vaccine, then you should seek medical help. "Other symptoms include blurred vision and nausea, and then as time develops, if you do not get treatment, that can progress then to seizures and such. "But in particular headaches, blurred vision, nausea, particularly after four days, is when you should seek medical help." Despite the concerns, Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol and a member of the JCVI, said it was vital to keep vaccines going as society opens up, in order to help stave off rising infection rates. It comes as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are expected to give updates on their investigations into whether the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is directly causing rare brain blood clots. Some European countries have restricted the vaccine use in younger people following reports of low platelet counts and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), a specific type of clot that prevents blood from draining from the brain. oxzenica Covid: Under-30s offered alternative to Oxford-AstraZeneca jab Under-30s in the UK are to be offered an alternative Covid vaccine to the AstraZeneca jab due to the evidence linking it to rare blood clots. The recommendation comes after a review by the UK drugs regulator found that by the end of March 79 people had suffered rare blood clots after vaccination - 19 of whom had died. The regulator said this was not proof the jab had caused the clots. But it said the link was getting firmer. uk Covid: Child jabs halted in trial as adult clot link probed A trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine on children has stopped giving out jabs while the UK's medicines regulator investigates a possible link with rare blood clots in adults.