The European Union will look for ways to end its vaccine struggles at a summit on Thursday, as a Covid-19 surge takes the death toll in Brazil past 300,000.

The first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Beirut on Wednesday.

The government had said it would delay administering them until the vaccine was cleared for use by international health regulators following concerns about possible blood clotting.

The Syrian government Wednesday offered 75 tons of oxygen to neighboring Lebanon during a visit by its caretaker health minister in response to a request for Covid-19 assistance.

"We will supply Lebanon with 75 tons of oxygen in instalments of 25 tons a day for a period of three days," Syrian Health Minister Hasan al-Ghabbash told reporters after a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Hamad Hassan.

The EU on Wednesday tightened its rules on Covid-19 vaccine exports, making authorizations contingent on destination countries behaving fairly in return -- particularly vaccine-producing ones.

Former England international Chris Sutton has accused football authorities of turning their back on the issue of brain injuries, three months after his father died with dementia.

AstraZeneca may have included out-of-date drug data in information provided during US trials for its Covid-19 vaccine, a regulator said late Monday, citing concerns from a monitoring board.

Germany said Tuesday it will impose a strict lockdown for five days over Easter as Covid-19 infections spiral "exponentially", while a row over exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine festers in Europe.

Spain on Monday raised the maximum age limit for people to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has faced setbacks in Europe due to safety concerns, from 55 to 65. 

Europe could have herd immunity against Covid-19 by July, a European Union commissioner has said, as incoming jabs are expected to speed up the continent's sluggish vaccine rollout.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday threatened to halt exports of AstraZeneca vaccines if the bloc did not receive its deliveries first, in a worsening row over delayed shipments that has caused international tensions.