This file photo shows vials with COVID-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of US biotech company Novavax, on Nov 17, 2020. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
JAKARTA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / TOKYO / CANBERRA / VIENTIANE / SUVA – Japan's health ministry on Tuesday approved the use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Novavax to be used on people aged 18 and older.
The Novavax vaccine will mark the fourth COVID-19 inoculation approved in Japan, although it will be the first protein-based vaccine compared to those developed by Pfizer and Moderna that are messenger RNA-based (mRNA) jabs.
The ministry hopes the Novavax jab can be administered to those who are likely to show allergic reactions to mRNA vaccines so they can still be vaccinated against the virus which has yet to be brought under control in Japan.
According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, protein-based vaccines are known to cause relatively fewer reactions, with the thinking being among the ministry that this will help the uptake of those who are as yet unvaccinated because they have been worried about side effects.
The Novavax vaccine requires recipients to be jabbed twice with a three-week period between doses, the ministry said, although a third booster shot will be allowed six months or more after the second jab.
Takeda Pharmaceutical will manufacture the jab locally and distribute the Novavax vaccine and is under contract to supply 150 million doses of the vaccine to the government within a year, according to official accounts.
The rollout, they said, is expected to begin in late May, with Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto saying on Tuesday that the government purchased the vaccine last September to make sure Japan was in possession of a stable supply should restrictions be applied on overseas vaccines.
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP)
Australia
A specialty clinic has been established in Australia's capital to help people suffering serious and lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
The Post COVID Recovery Clinic at the University of Canberra Hospital has been opened to treat patients with coronavirus symptoms that are still affecting their daily lives more than 12 weeks after contracting the virus.
Patients at the clinic receive care from rehabilitation specialists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists and social workers.
It is funded under the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government's COVID-19 health response, which received a 105 million Australian dollar ($77 million) boost in March.
Rachel Stephen-Smith, the ACT's Health Minister, said the clinic would help patients make a recovery from COVID-19.
On Tuesday morning, Australia reported more than 30,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 10 deaths, including eight in New South Wales, the country's most populous state.
Muslims visit a mosque to break their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on April 7, 2022. (DEVI RAHMAN / AFP)
Indonesia
Almost all residents of Indonesia's most populous island of Java have antibodies against COVID-19, owing to a combination of prior infection and vaccination against the virus, a government-commissioned survey showed.
The March study of 2,100 people, conducted on Java, home to 150 million people, and Bali, Indonesia's top tourism destination, revealed 99.2 percent of people had COVID-19 antibodies, a 6 percentage point increase from a December survey.
Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, which conducted the survey with the health ministry, on Monday told Reuters the antibody levels in the latest survey were higher due to a wider booster shot rollout, as recipients had stronger protection.
Pandu said the stronger antibodies may explain the faster rate at which Omicron variant infections declined in Indonesia.
The December study, of 22,000 people, was conducted nationwide and showed 86 percent of Indonesians had antibodies. read more
The world's largest Muslim-majority nation has recently loosened many of its pandemic restrictions, including waiving quarantine for foreign tourists and lifting a two-year ban on the mass exodus tradition during the Muslim holiday season of Eid al-Fitr.
The Indonesian government has told its people not to travel abroad during the holidays, which will run from April 29 to May 8, in a bid to avoid a possible spike in COVID-19 infections.
Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Monday said the survey was a factor in the government's assessment that the holiday "can go smoothly without bringing negative impacts on our people".
Laos
The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Laos has advised the public to monitor their health and check for symptoms of COVID-19 for seven days after the Lao New Year celebrations.
Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, director general of the Communicable Disease Control under the Lao Ministry of Health, told a press conference on Monday that it was observed that many people attended parties during the Lao New Year holidays and failed to comply with health guidelines over COVID-19.
People should not become complacent, he said. "If you have symptoms of illness such as a cough, sneezing, runny nose or sore throat, please see a doctor or take a rapid test."
Infected people who are asymptomatic are advised to self-isolate for 10 days. If symptoms of COVID-19 do not improve, or breathlessness develops, the taskforce committee advises an immediate visit to a doctor to get an assessment followed possibly by hospitalization.
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Myanmar
Myanmar has recorded no deaths from COVID-19 for more than a week since April 7, according to the data of the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The Southeast Asian country's total death toll on Monday remained at 19,434, it said.
The ministry registered 37 new COVID-19 infections with a daily positivity rate of 0.37 percent in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 612,602.
Singapore
Singapore reported 2,480 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,162,780.
Among the total cases, there were 2,402 local transmissions and 78 imported cases, respectively.
Of the new local cases, 263 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 2,139 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Samoa
Deaths and confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued to rise in Samoa over the past few days and Alert Level 2 lockdown was extended on Tuesday for another two weeks.
According to the newspaper Samoa Observer, the Ministry of Health confirmed on Tuesday that Samoa reported 362 new community cases, raising the island nation's total number of cases to 6,246 as of Monday.
The ministry also confirmed one more COVID-19 related death in the last 48 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 13.
Passengers wait for transportation outside the arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 15, 2022, as Vietnam announced the return of a visa exemption policy for 13 countries in an effort to kickstart its tourism sector. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 12,012 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, down 2,649 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.
Among the new infections, only one was imported and the rest were domestically transmitted.
The Vietnamese capital Hanoi remained the epidemic hotspot with 1,109 new cases on Monday, followed by the northern provinces of Yen Bai with 715 and Phu Tho with 700.