A clinician prepares a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a temporary vaccination center set up inside St John's Church in west London on Dec 4, 2021. (DANIEL LEAL / AFP)
BANGKOK / DHAKA / DUBAI / JERUSALEM / SEOUL / SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / YANGON – New Zealand authorities on Monday said they had linked a 26-year-old man's death to Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine after the person suffered myocarditis, a rare inflammation of the heart muscle, after taking his first dose.
The death is New Zealand's second linked to a known but rare side effect from the vaccine after health authorities in August reported a woman had died after taking her doses.
"With the current available information, the board has considered that the myocarditis was probably due to vaccination in this individual," a COVID-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board said in a statement.
The man, who died within two weeks of his first dose, had not sought medical advice or treatment for his symptoms. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit the organ's ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat rhythms.
A Pfizer spokesperson said the company was aware of the report of the death in New Zealand, it monitored all reports of possible adverse events, and continued to believe the benefit-risk profile for its vaccine was positive.
New Zealand's vaccine safety board also said another two people, including a 13-year-old, had died with possible myocarditis after taking their vaccinations. More details were needed before linking the child's death to the vaccine, while the death of a man in his 60s was unlikely related to the vaccine, it said.
Despite the rare side effects, the vaccine safety board said the benefits of vaccination greatly outweighed the risks.
Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi government started administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots on a trial basis Sunday.
The country's Health Minister Zahid Maleque inaugurated the program in Dhaka on Sunday, while a nurse Runu Veronica Costa, who had received the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country, received the first booster dose.
After inaugurating the program, Maleque told journalists that the drive will be extended throughout the country in phases.
He said frontliners and the elderly will be given priority for booster shots initially.
Senior health ministry officials, journalists and religious leaders also received their booster doses on the day.
Iranians wearing face masks as protection from COVID-19, shop at the Grand Bazaar of Iran's capital Tehran on Sept 5, 2021. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Iran
Iran has confirmed its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the health ministry said on Sunday
Iran has confirmed its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the health ministry said on Sunday, while authorities urged Iranians to get their booster doses in the Middle East's worst-hit country.
Deputy Health Minister Kamal Heidari told state TV that the infected person was a middle-age Iranian man who recently returned to Iran from the United Arab Emirates.
"The necessary measures were taken to quarantine this person who lives in Tehran and those who were in contact with him," Heidari said. "This is the first case of Omicron (coronavirus) variant that has been identified in Iran."
Coronavirus deaths have reached 131,083, the health ministry said, while infected cases rose by 1,968 in the past 24 hours to 6,170,979 in the Islamic Republic.
More than 50 million of Iran's population of approximately 85 million have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Israelis wait in line as a man receives a third Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug 1, 2021. (SEBASTIAN SCHEINER / FILE / AP)
Israel
Israel is in the midst of a fifth COVID-19 wave due to the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday, urging citizens to step up vaccination and to take precautions such as working from home.
In a televised address, Bennett said Israel had bought some time by moving fast to limit travel when Omicron was first detected last month, but that this was now waning. He predicted a surge of sicknesses within a few weeks.
Earlier on Sunday, a Health Ministry advisory committee recommended that Israel add the United States to the list of "red" countries to which its citizens cannot fly without special permission. Bennett did not mention this measure in his speech.
Israel has logged 134 confirmed Omicron cases and another 307 suspected cases, the Health Ministry said. Of these, 167 were symptomatic, it said.
Thailand
Thailand is considering reinstating mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors due to concerns over the spread of Omicron, as the health ministry reported on Monday the country's first case of local transmission of the coronavirus variant.
The public health ministry will propose scrapping a quarantine waiver for vaccinated visitors and revert to hotel quarantine and a "sandbox" program, which allows free movement in specific locations, minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
The proposal was driven by worries over the spread of Omicron, Anutin told the Inside Thailand television show, adding it will be made to the government's COVID-19 taskforce "soon".
The minister's remarks come after Thailand reopened to foreign visitors in November, ending nearly 18 months of strict entry policies that contributed to a collapse in tourism, a key industry and economic driver that drew 40 million visitors in 2019.
Thailand had detected 63 people infected with the Omicron variant so far, Anutin said, with one case of local transmission and the rest imported cases.
Read more: Thailand to expedite boosters in anticipation of Omicron
Myanmar
Myanmar reported 152 new COVID-19 infections with daily positivity rate of 1.32 percent in the past 24 hours, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
The number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 528,253 while its death toll has reached 19,220 after seven new deaths were reported on Sunday, the release said.
A total of 505,395 patients have been discharged from hospitals and over 5.89 million samples have been tested for COVID-19.
Over 13.7 million people have been fully vaccinated and over 6.05 million people have received the first jabs of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday, the ministry's data showed.
Singapore
Singapore reported 255 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally in the country to 275,910.
Of the new cases, 182 were in the community, six were in migrant worker dormitories and 67 were imported cases, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
A total of 496 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 29 cases being critically ill and intubated in the intensive care units. The current overall ICU utilization rate is 43.8 percent.
Three more patients have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection, bringing the death toll to 813, the ministry said.
South Korea
South Korea reported 5,318 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 570,417.
The daily caseload was down from 6,313 in the previous day due to fewer virus tests over the weekend.
The recent resurgence was attributable to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area.
The number of the Omicron variant infections was 178, including 54 imported cases and 124 domestic transmissions, unchanged from the prior day.
Fifty-four more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 4,776. The total fatality rate was 0.84 percent.
The country has administered COVID-19 vaccines to 43,493,325 people, or 84.7 percent of the total population, and the number of the fully inoculated people was 42,070,660, or 81.9 percent of the population.