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Sydney hairdressers, gyms, cafés and bars reopened to fully vaccinated customers on Monday for the first time in more than 100 days after Australia’s largest city achieved a vaccination benchmark. Sydney planned to reopen on the Monday after 70% of the New South Wales state population aged 16 and older were fully vaccinated. By Monday, 73.5% of the target population was fully vaccinated and more than 90% have received at least one dose. (McGuirk, 10/11)

Singapore is pressing ahead with plans to reopen its borders despite battling a record Covid-19 outbreak, saying it will allow vaccinated travelers from nine more countries including the U.S. and U.K. to enter without having to quarantine. The other places to qualify are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain with travel to Singapore to start from Oct. 19 and South Korea from Nov. 15, the government said Saturday. The number of Covid tests will be cut from four to two, helping to reduce cost and inconvenience, according to authorities. (Heijmans, 10/9)

Pfizer will vaccinate everyone over age 12 in the Brazilian city of Toledo as part of a study measuring the safety and effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, Reuters reports. Researchers in the study hope to monitor viral transmission in a real-life scenario after the population has been inoculated. The study will be in conjunction with Brazil's National Vaccination Program, local health authorities, a hospital and a federal university, per Reuters. (Saric, 10/10)

When Russian regulators approved the country’s own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely — a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in recent weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots. (Gec and Litvinova, 10/9)

While Western Europe celebrates the results of successful vaccination campaigns, a very different picture is emerging in Central and Eastern Europe as a wave of coronavirus cases and deaths threatens to overwhelm already overstretched health systems. A summer of sluggish vaccination, the relaxation of most restrictions and, in some countries, political upheaval have created a perfect storm for the highly infectious Delta variant. And unlike in previous waves, there is no appetite for further restrictions, leading some experts to warn that some countries are headed for Lombardy-like scenes. (Furlong, 10/8)

Irene Castilho didn’t even have a day to grieve after her husband died of COVID-19. She was sick, too, coughing and struggling to breathe; he was barely gone when she started using his oxygen mask. The same day, on March 22, she was admitted to a hospital in Sao Paulo. The 71-year-old had followed doctors’ instructions to the letter – dutifully taking her doses of hydroxychloroquine. She also took ivermectin and a battery of anti-inflammatories and vitamins in the so-called “COVID kit” that her health care company, Prevent Senior, mailed to her home. (Alvares, 10/10)