A health worker conducts a PCR test at the St Vincent's Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive through testing clinic on Dec 22, 2021 in Sydney. (MUHAMMAD FAROOQ / AFP)
NEW DELHI / JERUSALEM / BANGKOK / CANBERRA / MANILA – Australia's medical regulator has approved the Novavax vaccine and two oral treatments for COVID-19.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Thursday announced Novavax's Nuvaxovid has been given the green light as a two-dose vaccine for the primary course of inoculation in Australia, meaning it has not yet been approved as a booster.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will make a final decision on which age groups will be eligible to receive Nuvaxovid.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will make a final decision on which age groups will be eligible to receive Nuvaxovid
The federal government has ordered 51 million doses of the vaccine.
Recipients will receive their first and second doses three weeks apart.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said he was hopeful that the minority of Australians who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 will come forward for Nuvaxovid when it is made available "over the coming weeks."
"We have a first dose national vaccination rate of 95.2 percent, and we know that some people have waited for Novavax, and although we have encouraged everyone to proceed, we recognize that that's a fact. So hopefully this will encourage those people in the less than last 5 percent to come forward," he told reporters.
The TGA also announced approval for Pfizer's Paxlovid and Merck Sharp and Dohme's Lagevrio, making them the first oral medicines for COVID-19 approved for use in Australia.
Australia has ordered 800,000 courses of the medications, which Hunt said would be made available through prescriptions for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
Patients who are prescribed the antiviral pills will take two a day for five days, reducing their chances of developing severe symptoms and requiring hospitalization.
"A course of them will help the most vulnerable, particularly some of our older Australians who have always been at more risk from COVID," Hunt said.
"They will help people who are at risk of going from mild to moderate symptoms and deemed by medical professionals to have the risk of progression to more serious conditions," he said.
Australia on Thursday reported more than 70,000 locally-acquired coronavirus infections and 60 deaths, 25 in New South Wales, 15 in Victoria, 11 in South Australia and nine in Queensland.
According to the Department of Health, there were 5,307 cases being treated in Australian hospitals on Wednesday, including 424 in intensive care units.
A health worker collects a nasal swab sample from a man to test for the COVID-19 coronavirus at a testing center in Srinagar on Jan 17, 2022. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
India
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 38,218,773 on Thursday, as 317,532 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
This is the seventh consecutive day when more than 200,000 new cases and the first day when over 300,000 new cases were registered in a day in the country in more than eight months.
Besides, as many as 491 deaths were recorded since Wednesday morning, taking the death toll to 487,693.
Currently there are 1,924,051 active cases in the country with an increase of 93,051 during the period. This is the 23rd consecutive day when the number of active cases rose amid the third wave in the country.
A total of 35,807,029 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, with 223,990 new recoveries.
ALSO READ: Japan widens COVID-19 curbs, Omicron drives record infections
Meanwhile, the country's Omicron tally has reached 9,287, as an increase of 3.63 percent was seen since Wednesday. Most of the Omicron cases have been reported from the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Meanwhile, The Indian drug regulator's subject expert committee on Wednesday recommended full approval for Covishield and Covaxin, the two COVID-19 vaccines that have dominated the country's inoculation drive.
Covishield, developed by the University of Oxford and Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc, is produced in India by the Serum Institute of India. Covaxin, India's first home-grown coronavirus shot, was developed by privately owned Bharat Biotech.
The committee advised that the Drugs Controller General of India upgrade the status of the two shots from restricted use in emergencies for adults, the regulator said on Twitter.
Covaxin and Covishield received emergency use authorization in India in January 2021, with more than a combined 1.5 billion doses having been administered so far, according to government data.
The Serum Institute has nearly quadrupled its monthly capacity of AstraZeneca's shots to as many as 240 million doses and is prepared to export "large volumes" from January, its CEO told Reuters in October.
Isreal
Israel on Wednesday reported 72,120 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,006,131, or 21.2 percent of the total population, the state's health ministry said.
The new daily figure is the highest since the coronavirus outbreak in Israel in late February 2020, the ministry noted.
The death toll from the COVID-19 rose to 8,350, with 10 new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 498 to 533, the highest figure since early October, 2021.
The number of active cases rose to a new record of 393,786, according to the ministry.
A face mask-clad woman reads a subway map in front of a train station exit in Tokyo's Ginza district on Jan 18, 2022, as Japan reported a record high of new COVID-19 infections fuelled by the Omicron variant. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)
Japan
Japan's western prefecture of Osaka and two neighbouring regions are expected to join in a widening declaration of COVID-19 prevention measures, Osaka's governor said on Thursday.
Japan added more than 41,000 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday as the Omicron variant spread, a tally by national broadcaster NHK showed, breaking a record for two consecutive days.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided on Wednesday to expand the measures to cover the capital Tokyo and a dozen other regions. If the restrictions are widened to include Osaka and its two neighbors, 63 percent of the nation's total population – or just under 80 million people – would live under the measure.
Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said the prefecture would hold a meeting on Friday to determine whether to apply for measures referred to as quasi-emergency that allow governors to request restaurants and bars shorten business hours and stop serving alcohol.
This handout picture taken and released on Nov 11, 2021 by APEC New Zealand shows New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking during her opening address at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Wellington.
(JEFF TOLLAN / APEC NEW ZEALAND / AFP(
New Zealand
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that restrictions will be tightened across the country if there is a community transmission of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus but she ruled out lockdowns.
New Zealand's tight controls and geographic advantage has helped it remain free of the Omicron variant in the community, although many cases have now been reported at quarantine facilities at the border.
A "red" traffic light setting would be imposed within 24 to 48 hours of Omicron arriving in the community, Ardern told a news conference, which would mean masks would be mandated and there would be limits on public gatherings.
"When we have evidence of Omicron transmitting in the community we won’t use lockdowns, instead the whole country will move into Red within 24 to 48 hours," Ardern said, adding that Omicron would eventually arrive.
Philippines
The Philippines opened a zoo on Wednesday as a makeshift vaccination centre in the hope its elephants and eagles can attract young and elderly people hesitant about getting inoculated against COVID-19.
Manila zoo was giving vaccinations to young people age 12-17 and the elderly and allowing recipients of jabs to spend time observing its elephant enclosure, peacocks and more.
"Aside from being safe and also getting vaccinated, the kids can also enjoy the outdoors, the scenery, and the animals that are here inside," said Joyce Pablo, mother of one of the children being inoculated.
In this file photo taken on April 27, 2021 a medical worker wearing personal protective equipment takes a nasal swab sample from a man to test for the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Thai-Japanese Stadium, also known as the Bangkok Youth Center in Bangkok. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Thailand
Thailand will resume its 'Test & Go' quarantine waiver for vaccinated arrivals from Feb 1, its coronavirus task force said on Thursday, in response to slowing COVID-19 infections.
The scheme was suspended a month ago after only seven weeks due to the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant and uncertainty about vaccine effectiveness against it.
The policy requires visitors to test on arrival and again five days later, while agreeing to have their whereabouts tracked, spokesperson Taweesin Wisanuyothin told a briefing.