The World Health Organization said it was considering introducing electronic vaccination certificates, as hopes for an end to the pandemic were boosted after Britain became the first country to approve use of a Covid-19 vaccine.

"We are looking very closely into the use of technology in this Covid-19 response and one of them is how can we work with members states towards something called an e-vaccination certificate," WHO Europe expert Siddhartha Datta told an online press briefing Thursday.

Leading American infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci criticized Britain on Thursday for rushing through its approval process for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, suggesting the move could undermine public faith.

Vaccinations against Covid-19 in France will be free, the prime minister said Thursday, and will begin in January for one million elderly in retirement homes, February for 14 million at-risk people and spring for the rest of the population.

Jean Castex said that thanks to orders already made at a European level, "France will have a potential of 200 million doses, which would allow 100 million people to be vaccinated" because the course requires two injections a few weeks apart.

Over 1.5 million coronavirus deaths have been recorded worldwide from nearly 65 million cases, according to an AFP tally on Thursday at 1845 GMT based on official statistics.

Greece said Thursday it will extend a coronavirus lockdown by a week to December 14, citing persistently high infection rates.

"The epidemiological burden remains high," government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters as he announced the extension.

Iran on Thursday surpassed one million confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection, the health ministry said in the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic.

Italy on Thursday announced national travel restrictions for the Christmas holidays designed to limit the spread of Covid-19 in the European country first hit by the pandemic.

The new rules, together with an existing curfew and other regulations already in place, seek to curb circulation throughout the country during the festive period by limiting the number of gatherings.

Localised coronavirus outbreaks in parts of South Africa have raised fears that the country could see a resurgence in cases compounded by gatherings during the upcoming festive season.

Pfizer and BioNTech say they've won permission Wednesday for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, the world's first coronavirus shot that's backed by rigorous science -- and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic.

Japan will give free coronavirus vaccines to all of its residents under a bill passed Wednesday, as the nation battles record numbers of daily cases.