News in Brief
Latvia health minister fired over vaccine policy
Latvia's prime minister on Tuesday fired his health minister in a row over coronavirus vaccination policy, straining ties within the governing coalition. Krisjanis Karins said the Baltic state was "struggling with the consequences of not having a clear and comprehensible plan of action". Latvia has focused its vaccination plan mainly on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which has so far not been authorised in the European Union. Health Minister Ilze Vinkele accepted the prime minister's request for her to step down but complained that she has been made a scapegoat for government's failure.