People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a landmark lion statue of a department store that also wears a mask in the Ginza shipping area of Tokyo on July 28, 2022. (SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP)
TOKYO / MANILA / HANOI / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / YANGON / ANKARA – A new COVID-19 vaccine considered effective against the Omicron subvariant will be available to the public from as early as mid-October, the Japanese government said Monday.
Japan's health ministry held an expert panel on Monday and approved the government's plan to roll out the Omicron-specific booster for all residents who have been vaccinated twice.
The so-called bivalent vaccine, mixing ingredients deriving from existing COVID-19 shots and those from the Omicron variant's BA.1 subvariant, is expected to increase neutralizing antibodies against the BA.5 subvariant currently surging in infections across the country.
The new vaccine is under development by US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna. Following clinical approval, the health ministry plans to begin importing the vaccines as early as September.
Japanese officials say the vaccines will prevent serious conditions among the older people and boost the overall immunity of the society.
Japan on Monday reported 137,859 new coronavirus cases. The country is experiencing a seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic driven by the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5 subvariant, logging nearly 250,000 daily new cases last Wednesday.
Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in an effort to counter the spread of the COVID-19 in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on March 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)
Brunei
Brunei logged a daily average of 578 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, the health ministry said on Monday.
It said at a weekly briefing that 62,148 antigen rapid test (ART) results were uploaded to the government platform in one week, with 6.4 percent of them being positive.
Currently no hospitalized cases are held in intensive care unit, but five cases are in need of assisted breathing, according to the ministry.
As of Aug 7, 75.6 percent of Brunei's population have received three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 7.8 percent have taken a fourth booster dose.
This photo taken on Jan 14, 2021 shows healthcare workers putting on personal protective gear in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Ayeyarwady COVID Center at the Thuwanna football stadium in Yangon, Myanmar. (SAI AUNG MAIN / AFP)
Myanmar
Myanmar confirmed 15 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 614,213 on Monday, according to the Ministry of Health.
The health ministry said it tested 6,304 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.24 percent.
It added that the death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,434 with no new deaths reported.
A child receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as a performer dressed as superhero character Spider-Man looks on at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila on Feb 7, 2022. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 4,203 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,808,156.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose further to 37,942, and 30 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the death toll to 60,807.
The DOH has reported over 4,000 daily caseload for the fifth straight day.
The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan.15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 71.5 million people.
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 3,541 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,763,116.
Of the new cases, 348 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,193 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 338 were local transmissions and 10 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 3,086 local transmissions and 107 imported cases, respectively.
Two deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 1,541, the ministry said.
Pedestrians wearing face masks walk on a street in Ankara on Dec 12, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (ADEM ALTAN / AFP)
Türkiye
Experts attributed the recent significant rise of the COVID-19 cases in Türkiye to the Omicron subvariant BA.5.
Tayyar Sasmaz, a professor of public health from Türkiye's Mersin University Faculty of Medicine, told Xinhua that the new cases have soared in July due to the subvariant which spreads faster and infects rapidly even outdoors.
The BA.5 subvariant, which has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a variant of concern," is more contagious than previous ones and can infect outdoors, but is not stronger in causing fatalities, according to the expert.
Turkish Ministry of Health reported on Saturday there were more than 406,000 new COVID-19 cases and 337 deaths during the week of July 25-Aug. 1, compared to the previous weekly figures which showed 365,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus and 157 related deaths.
The country's official death toll stands at nearly 100,000, with over 15.8 million cases.
"This surge came earlier than we predicted," said Sasmaz, predicting higher cases in later months when people will more be indoors.
The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has been urging the government to bring back some preventive measures, such as the indoor mask mandate.
The rate of those who received the third and fourth dose of vaccines is at a low level in Türkiye, the TTB said, recommending people with obesity, cancer or diabetes to take precautions.
Ayten Caglar, a family doctor in the capital city Ankara, told Xinhua that "currently, a majority of the COVID-19 cases stemmed from the BA.5 subvariant, and the elderly patients are at serious risk."
People with chronic illnesses should get the booster shot available since mid-July if six months have passed since their last vaccination, the physician added.
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 1,705 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up by 324 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,349,223. The country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Monday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,094.