A medic prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus at a private nursing home in the Israeli central coastal city of Netanya on Jan 5, 2022. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)
SINGAPORE / RIYADH / SUVA – A fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine lowered rates of COVID-19 among the elderly but the protection against infection appeared short-lived, a large study in Israel has found.
The second booster's protection against infection dwindled after four weeks, Israeli researchers showed in their study published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Protection against severe illness did not wane during the six weeks after the dose but more follow-up study was needed to evaluate its longer-term protection, the researchers said.
The study on 1.3 million people aged 60 and older looked at data from the Israeli Ministry of Health database between Jan 10 and March 2, when the Omicron variant was predominant.
It comes ahead of a meeting by the US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to discuss the need for additional boosters, a week after the United States authorized a second booster shot for people aged 50 and older amid a spread of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.
European health ministers have also urged the bloc's governments to back a fourth dose for people over 60.
In Asia, South Korea started giving out fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines in February and Singapore has said a second booster dose is planned for those aged 80 and older.
Another study from Israel showed last month that seniors who received a second booster of the Pfizer Inc /BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine had a 78 percent lower mortality rate than those who got just one. read more
Israel started offering a second booster in January.
Muslims pray at the Grand Mosque, with a view of the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, in Saudi Arabia's city of Mecca on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan on April 2, 2022. (ABDEL GHANI BASHIR / AFP)
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia will use a mobile application to facilitate visitors' pilgrimage to Mecca during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said on Tuesday.
Travelers observing Umrah, a form of pilgrimage to Mecca, can book their Umrah ritual via the application Eatmarna and enjoy a smoother and safer experience, said the ministry.
Eatmarna, which translates as "let's perform Umrah," was originally developed to manage visits during the COVID-19 pandemic when social distancing regulations were in place.
The application's success in ensuring equal access for all worshippers and providing a smooth, seamless experience has led the ministry to continue its use after the lifting of restrictions.
In March, Saudi Arabia announced removing all COVID-related travel restrictions. Travelers no longer need to provide PCR tests or proof of vaccination to enter the country and institutional quarantine requirements have been removed.
Singapore
Singapore reported 6,341 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 1,119,419.
Of the new cases, 755 cases were detected through PCR tests and 5,586 through ART tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 734 were local transmissions and 21 imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 5,485 local transmissions and 101 imported cases, respectively.
A total of 518 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 16 cases in intensive care units.
One death was reported from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 1,284, the ministry said.
A woman (center) carries a refilled gas container in the center of the capital Nuku'alofa ahead of the country's first lockdown on February 2, 2022, after Covid-19 was detected in the previously virus-free Pacific kingdom as it struggles to recover from the deadly January 15 volcanic eruption and tsunami. (MARY LYN FONUA / MATANGI TONGA / AFP)
Samoa and Tonga
The two South Pacific island nations of Samoa and Tonga reported more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
According to the newspaper Samoa Observer, Samoa's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the country reported 156 new cases in the community in the last 24-hours, bringing the total number of community cases in the island nation to 2,722, with 1,502 active cases.
The Samoan Health authorities also recorded four new positive cases at the border among passengers who arrived recently from New Zealand.
Currently, a total of 24,241 rapid antigen tests have been administered in Samoa which has also reported two COVID-19 related deaths so far this year.
In Samoa, 97.2 percent of the island nation's eligible population have received their first doses while 71.3 percent have received their second doses.
A total of 40,182 people aged 18 years and over in Samoa have received their booster shots so far this year.
From Tuesday, Samoa lowered the Alert level 3 nationwide lockdown, which went into effect from March 17, to Alert level 2.
Meanwhile, in Tonga, Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said on Wednesday that his country recorded 143 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours.
The total number of active cases in Tonga has dropped to 1,969 while 5,541 people had recovered from the virus.
So far, 98 percent of the target population over the age of 12 in the island nation have received their first doses, 90 percent have received their second doses. And 50 percent of people in Tonga have received their booster shots.
A staff member (center) wearing protective equipment guides a traveler at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport on Nov 30, 2021, amid growing concerns about the Omicron COVID-19 variant. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
South Korea
South Korea said on Wednesday it will add hundreds of international flights per week beginning in May, continuing to ease anti-coronavirus measures as its Omicron wave declines.
From next month, the government will authorize a further 100 weekly flights for such destinations as the United States, Europe, Thailand and Singapore, where quarantine exemptions and visa-free entry are possible, Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol said.
Then 100 more weekly international flights will be added in June and a further 300 in July, the transport ministry said.
Only 420 international fights a week currently serve South Korea, down from 4,714 before the pandemic.
"Demand for overseas visits is expected to increase, as countries that have passed the peak of the Omicron wave have eased quarantine policies," Jeon said in a statement.
South Korean cases have been declining for about three weeks.
The country is considering scrapping most pandemic-related curbs later this month, including an obligation to wear masks outdoors, after already dropping national vaccine mandates and mandatory quarantine for vaccinated travelers arriving from overseas.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 286,294 new cases for Tuesday, down from a record 621,328 in mid-March.
Shares in Korean Air rose as much as 1.7 percent after the announcement, versus a 0.9 percent drop in the wider market
Medical staff administer doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine to youths between the age of 12 and 17 in Hanoi on Nov 23, 2021.
(NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 54,995 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 6,278 from Monday, according to its Ministry of Health.
The new infections, logged in 61 localities nationwide, were all domestically transmitted.
The Vietnamese capital Hanoi remained the epidemic hotspot with 5,199 new cases on Tuesday, followed by the central Nghe An province with 2,925 and the northern Phu Tho province with 2,827.
The infections brought the country's total tally to 9,922,040, with 42,681 deaths. Nationwide, as many as 8,147,290 COVID-19 patients, or 82 percent of the infections, have so far recovered.
More than 207 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including 189.8 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.
Vietnam has by far gone through four coronavirus waves of increasing scale, complication, and infectivity. As of Tuesday, it has registered over 9.9 million locally transmitted COVID-19 cases since the start of the current wave in April 2021, said the health ministry.