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Australia will drop some restrictions on international travel in November, easing one of the world's longest covid border closures. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday that the country would reopen its mostly shut international border next month, ending more than 18 months of restrictions that earned the Pacific nation the nicknames of “Fortress Australia” and the “Hermit Kingdom,” and left tens of thousands of Australians stuck overseas. (Miller, 10/1)

Australia recognized China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Covid-19 shot and India-made AstraZeneca Plc jabs, paving the way for overseas travelers and fee-paying foreign students who have received those vaccinations to enter the country. The nation’s top drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, said the shots should be “recognized vaccines” in determining incoming travelers as being inoculated, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday. (Whitley, 10/1)

China is asking city governments to create specialized quarantine facilities that can house thousands of overseas arrivals, as the country continues to take a zero-tolerance approach to keeping out Covid-19. Local authorities have until the end of October to convert or build the hubs, National Health Commission official Cui Gang told a briefing this week, with the requirement for at least 20 rooms for every 10,000 residents. The goal is to prevent the country’s quarantine facilities from becoming “scattered” and “disorganized,” Cui said. (10/1)

With nearly three quarters of all adults fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the European Union is a world leader in inoculations. But the impressive headline number is obscuring an uncomfortable reality: the rollout has been extremely unequal across the union. Some countries, including Ireland, Malta, Portugal and Denmark, have achieved near universal vaccination, boasting coverage rates of around 90%, according to the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC). On the other side of the bloc, Romania and Bulgaria have fully vaccinated only 33% and 22% of their adults, respectively. (Kottasova, 10/1)

After 2 years of meetings, research, and collaboration, the Influenza Vaccine Research & Development Roadmap (IVR) was published today. The project, which was created through a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), outlines a decade's worth of milestones leading up to two goals: a universal flu vaccine and improved seasonal flu vaccines. (McLernon, 9/30)

Philip Morris International Inc. has control of most of Vectura Group Plc’s shares and is in the final stages of taking the U.K. asthma drug maker private. Philip Morris has acquired about 97% valid acceptances and can now compulsorily acquire any remaining shares, the company said in a statement Friday. The deal had already become unconditional in mid-September, when it obtained majority control. The offer will remain open until further notice. (Gretler, 10/1)

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé has been discharged from the hospital where he received treatment for nearly a month. “I am so happy to be back at home,” Pelé wrote in a post on his official Instagram. “I want to thank the entire Albert Einstein Hospital team, who made my stay a pleasant one, with a humane and very affectionate welcome.” The 80-year-old removed a tumor from his colon on Sept. 4 and spent days in intensive care after the surgery. (9/30)