Pope, Queen join vaccine drive, German Covid deaths top 40K

More than 1.9 million people worldwide have now died from the virus, with new variants adding to soaring cases and prompting the re-introduction of restrictions on movement across the globe – even as with mass inoculation drives underway.

The pope and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth became the latest high-profile figures to join the global vaccination campaign against the coronavirus as Germany on Sunday reported 40,000 fatalities since the pandemic began a year ago. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the worst was still to come.

Pope Francis attends an inter-religious prayer service for peace in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a church on top of Rome's Capitoline Hill, Italy. (REUTERS)

More than 1.9 million people worldwide have now died from the virus, with new variants adding to soaring cases and prompting the re-introduction of restrictions on movement across the globe – even as with mass inoculation drives underway.