Highlights: US officials say some doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine kept too cold

With the EU planning to begin Covid-19 vaccinations two days after Christmas, the Dutch health minister Hugo de Jonge has said that the Netherlands will begin vaccinations on January 8 next year and not along with other EU countries.

"We have opted for a planning that is careful, safe and responsible. We need as many people as possible to get vaccinated. That will only happen if people trust the vaccine and the process of vaccination," the minister has said in a letter to the parliament, reports news agency Reuters.

Pfizer has said in a statement that the company faces no production issues and also said that it is confident of delivering 50 million doses by year end and 1.3 billion doses in 2021, reports Reuters.

US officials had earlier pointed out to manufacturing challenges in Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine.

Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine needs to be stored at very low temperatures of minus 70 degrees celsius and US officials have said that some vaccines have been stored at excessively colder temperatures raising concerns about safety and efficacy.

US army general Gustave Perna has said at least two trays of Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered in California needed to be replaced after their storage temperatures dipped below minus 80 Celsius, reports Reuters. Click here to read more.

Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted on Thursday confirming that Covid-19 vaccination will start across the European Union on December 27, 28 and 29, two days after Christmas.

“It’s Europe’s moment,” she said in her tweet with regulatory bodies expected to assess the Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine soon. Click here to read more.

Madhya Pradesh reported 1,161 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 2,27,949 including 12,156 active cases. Th death toll after nine new fatalities stands at 3,442 while the total number of recoveries rose to 2,12,351 after 1,326 new ones.

Gujarat reported 1,115 new coronavirus infections taking the state's tally to 2,32,188. Death toll after eight more fatalities stands at 4,211.

Maharashtra reported 3,880 new coronavirus infections taking the state's tally to 18,84,773. Death toll rose to 48,499 after 65 new fatalities.

Manipur reported 81 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 27,454 including 1,872 active cases. The total number of deaths rose to 332 after three new fatalities. Total number of recoveries after 143 new ones stands at 25,250.

Kerala reported 4,969 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's overall active caseload to 58,155. The death toll after 27 new fatalities stands at 2,734 and there have been 4,970 new recoveries.

Karnataka reported 1,236 new cases taking the state's tally to 9,05,901 including 15,205 active cases. The death toll after 10 new fatalities stands at 11,981. Total number of discharges after 1,497 new ones is 8,78,696.

Uttarakhand reported 620 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 84,689 including 6,062 active cases. The death toll rose after nine new fatalities to 1,384. Total number of recoveries stands at 76,223 after 676 new ones.

The national capital recorded 1,363 new coronavirus infections, taking the caseload to 6,13,357 including 12,198 active cases. The death toll after 35 new fatalities rose to 10,182 and the number of recoveries stood at 5,90,977 after 2,391 new ones.

Puducherry reported 40 new coronavirus infections taking the UT's tally to 37,622 including 307 active cases. 32 discharges meant the total number of recoveries grew to 36,693. Death toll stands at 622.

Andhra Pradesh reported 534 new coronavirus infections taking the state's tally to 8,77,348 including 4,454 active cases. The death toll rose to 7,069 after two new fatalities and total number of recoveries after 498 new ones is 8,65,825.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the government will rollout free coronavirus vaccines to the entire population by mid-2021.