EU leaders discuss boosting Covid vaccine supplies

European Union leaders have met for a virtual summit as tensions grow over Covid vaccine supplies. The bloc has already warned it could ban exports of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs to places like the UK amid claims current arrangements are slowing down its vaccine rollout. We get the latest developments from our correspondent and speak to journalists from France and Italy about Europe’s vaccine problems and third wave of coronavirus in the continent.

We’ll also be hearing from our resident coronavirus expert, Dr Emma Hodcroft who’ll answer your most pressing questions on the pandemic. She’ll also be updating with the latest research on the virus, including a UK study suggesting that middle-aged women experience the most severe “long Covid” symptoms.

And as we continue to look at how the pandemic has changed people’s lives, today we hear from two people who after losing their jobs became homeless. Edward in the US had to sleep in the New York subway and trains stations and Walter spend five months homeless in South Africa, including living on Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain.

And we’ll be learning about the traffic jam in the Suez Canal that’s caused a backlog of 150 ships in the world’s most vital maritime route. Dislodging the 400 metre-long ship is proving difficult.

(Photo: Vials labelled "AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" placed on displayed EU flag are seen in this illustration picture
24/03/2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)