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Virus flares in Europe, Brexit deal on the ropes, and Biden blasts Trump in convention speech.

The fallout from the pandemic spread in Europe continues as authorities show little willingness to impose closing borders akin to the initial surge during March and April. The bloc is seeking to battle a public-health crisis without delivering another blow to economies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged European leaders to work together. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said the Covid-19 vaccine they are jointly developing is on track to be submitted for regulatory review as early as October. Last month the companies clinched a $2 billion deal to supply an initial 100 million doses of the vaccine to the U.S. Meanwhile, Russia plans to start international clinical trials of its Sputnik V vaccine. Elsewhere, California’s hospitalizations for Covid-19 fell to the lowest since late June while daily cases stayed below the two-week trend line.