A girl walks past a poster at a vaccination centre in New Delhi on April 10, 2022, after government announced the paid precaution dose against the coronavirus to be available for everyone above 18 years of age at private vaccination centers. (MONEY SHARMA / AFP)
NEW DELHI / YANGON / HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA – The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted approval to the first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, the Department of Biotechnology said Tuesday.
Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), the maker of iNCOVACC (BBV154), has received approval under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for people aged 18 and above in India for heterologous booster doses.
The vaccine maker said in a statement: "iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phases I, II and III clinical trials with successful results."
"iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries."
According to Bharat Biotech, iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University in St. Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and evaluated in preclinical studies for efficacy.
A heath worker receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Ayeyarwaddy COVID treatment center, Jan 27, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. (THEIN ZAW / AP)
Myanmar
Myanmar extended its COVID-19 preventive measures until Dec 31, according to a statement released by the Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The extension is applied to all COVID-19 restrictions that expire on Nov 30, except the ones that will be eased, the committee said.
The statement said that the extension covers all orders, announcements, directives previously issued by respective government organizations and ministries in order to contain the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, Myanmar recorded a total of 633,217 COVID-19 infections, including 19,488 deaths and 607,725 recoveries, the health ministry's data showed.
A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 801 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,035,487.
The Department of Health said the number of active cases dropped to 18,250, while 12 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, taking the death toll to 64,620.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, recorded 277 new cases.
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 1,838 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 2,166,527.
A total of 137 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with nine of them held in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
Singapore recorded one new death from COVID-19 on Tuesday, lifting the total death toll to 1,703.
A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 558 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 225 from Monday, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The new infections brought the total tally to 11,515,423. The Southeast Asian country reported two new deaths from the pandemic in the southern province of Tay Ninh on Tuesday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,172.