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COVID-19 vaccines may have saved millions of lives but they have not decisively reduced the spread of the virus, the World Health Organisation says.

The organisation therefore called on researchers to develop new vaccines that reduce infections - otherwise, there is still a risk that virus variants will develop against which the vaccines are less effective.

Vaccines that are easier to administer than before, such as nasal sprays, are also needed, the WHO said.

"Even where 70 per cent vaccination coverage is achieved, if significant numbers of health workers, older people and other at-risk groups remain unvaccinated, deaths will continue, health systems will remain under pressure and the global recovery will be at risk," WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"Accumulated evidence indicates that existing vaccines provide only modest and relatively limited duration of protection against (COVID-19) infection," a WHO report stated.

The WHO also updated its vaccination targets.

It now aims to double-vaccinate 100 per cent of health-care workers, people over 60 years of age and people who are particularly at risk due to pre-existing conditions in every country worldwide.

The previous target of vaccinating 70 per cent of all people in all countries by the middle of the year was missed.

By the end of June, only 58 countries had achieved this.

According to a study by Imperial College London published in The Lancet in June, almost 20 million lives have been saved by coronavirus vaccinations.

In poorer countries, however, only 28 per cent of the elderly and 37 per cent of health workers have been vaccinated.

© DPA 2022

Ben Hunt has declared St George Illawarra are a united team after helping breathe life back into their season with a crucial 20-6 win over Manly.

Just days after coach Anthony Griffin's future came under the spotlight, Hunt scored two tries to put the Dragons level on wins with eighth spot.

In a virtual four-point game for both teams at Jubilee Oval, Hunt's tries helped the Dragons out to a 14-0 lead at halftime before they held on after the break.

Already ravaged by COVID-19, Manly then lost Ben Trbojevic to concussion, Sean Keppie a shoulder injury and Josh Aloiai a knee cork.

The loss left them outside the top eight, level with the Dragons and needing to win at least three of their last six to have any hope of playing in the finals.

Coach Des Hasler also claimed he would speak to referees' boss Jared Maxwell during the week, unhappy with a 10-4 penalty count that hurt his team in the first half.

But that would have mattered little to the Dragons and Griffin, after a difficult week.

Amid reports that Griffin's future was to be discussed at a board meeting and that there was a rat in the ranks with claims of an unhappy dressing room, Hunt said he did not need to address the group.

"When there is things going on like that, sometimes you get a vibe that there is something going on between the players," Hunt said.

"I didn't feel it at all. It wasn't mentioned. You just get on with the job."

Jack Bird, who deputised at centre and fullback after Cody Ramsey suffered a serious knee injury, also insisted there were no issues in the group.

"We all get along with Hook (Griffin), we all like playing under him and we're a tight bunch," Bird said.

"We've been inconsistent, but I've never seen why teams sack coaches midway through the year.

"We've seen it with the Bulldogs and the Tigers and stuff, I just think it takes a lot away from your game and the concentration side of things.

"I'm happy to play under Hook and I'm happy that he's staying."

Hunt was the star in it all.

He scored the first try of the game when he slipped over in wet conditions close to the line before burrowing through Manly's defence.

The halfback's next try came in more conventional fashion, running onto a brilliant grubberkick from Talatau Amone.

And while Hunt's try-scoring prowess put the Dragons on the road to victory, his kicking and game management was just as vital.

The Dally M leader when votes went behind closed doors last month, Hunt forced four line dropouts off his own boot alone in the wet.

While Hunt was in control for the Dragons, Manly's attack was clunky with lock Jake Trbojevic, hooker Lachlan Croker and second-rower Andrew Davey all out with COVID-19.

Their dangerous right edge was also rendered close to ineffective with Haumole Olakau'atu battling an ankle injury, while a run of penalties left them with little ball early.

"We have been such a disciplined team for the past month," Hasler said.

"It's not a whinge or a complaint. I just don't see how we can warrant a two-to-one penalty count against us at (9-5).

"I don't get it."

© AAP 2022

Joe Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States, has tested positive for COVID-19, is experiencing mild symptoms and will continue working but in isolation, the White House says.

Biden, 79, had a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional dry cough, symptoms which he began to experience late on Wednesday, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a note released on Thursday.

Biden had begun taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of severe disease by nearly 90 per cent in high-risk patients if given within the first five days of infection.

Fully vaccinated and twice boosted, Biden said he was "doing well" in a video posted on his Twitter account.

He also said he was "getting a lot of work done" and would continue with his duties.

A photograph on his Twitter account showed him smiling and sitting at a desk with papers.

White House COVID-19 co-ordinator, Dr Ashish Jha, said Biden's oxygen levels were normal and he would isolate for five days and return to public events once he had a negative test.

Biden became ill at a time when his administration is grappling with soaring inflation and Russia's land assault on Ukraine.

His popularity has dropped sharply in the past year. A Reuters/Ipsos survey this week showed 36 per cent of people in the US approve of his job performance.

His illness forced cancellation of a trip to Pennsylvania where Biden intended to lay out plans to ask Congress for $US37 billion ($A54 billion) for crime prevention programs.

At Biden's last physical in November 2021, doctors reported the president had atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat for which he takes Eliquis, a drug designed to prevent blood clots and reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

Jha said Biden would stop taking Eliquis and the statin Crestor while on his Paxlovid treatment to avoid a negative interaction between the drugs.

Multiple members of Biden's administration and other senior figures in Washington DC have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months, including Vice-President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both of whom have since tested negative and resumed working.

Biden set up strict COVID-19 safety protocols at the White House, urged the public to take the virus seriously and campaigned for everyone to get fully vaccinated.

He is tested regularly and anyone who meets him or travels with him is tested beforehand, the White House has said.

Biden had last tested negative on Tuesday.

He has stopped wearing a mask at public events in recent months, and the White House dropped its mask requirement before his March 1 State of the Union Address.

Administration officials have acknowledged that Biden's regular contact with advisers and supporters could expose him to COVID-19.

Biden's wife Jill tested negative on Thursday in Detroit and plans to maintain her full schedule of travel in Michigan and Georgia, her office says.

© RAW 2022