Vaccines

Singapore postpones vaccinated travel lanes with Middle Eastern countries. (Photo: https://www.straitstimes.com/) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore has decided to defer launching vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and review border measures amid the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant . In its statement on November 28, the Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the move is a precautionary measure to reduce the risks of importing and spreading the Omicron variant to the country. The deferment of the VTL to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be in place until further notice, the ministry said, adding that the details of review of border measures will be announced soon. The postponement of VTLs with the three Middle Eastern countries came just a few days before VTL flights between Singapore and these countries start to be begin on December 6. Previously, Singapore decided to tighten border control … [Read more...] about Singapore postpones vaccinated travel lanes with Middle Eastern countries

Vietnamese tourism officials would work with Thai counterparts to set up a ‘travel bubble’ scheme as Thailand has proved successful in welcoming international tourists amid Covid-19 with the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ model, Nguyen Trung Khanh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said at a seminar on Vietnam’s tourism recovery plan. The ‘Phuket Sandbox" program allows travelers who are fully vaccinated to enter the island city of Phuket without quarantine from July 1 and the tourism model has since been expanded across Thailand. Foreign tourists with vaccine passports from over 60 countries and territories, including Vietnam, are exempt from mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The Vietnamese government also plans to resume regular international flights to 15 countries and territories with high vaccination rates, including Thailand, from December. Thailand was Vietnam's fastest growing tourist market before the pandemic, with the number of visitors from that country … [Read more...] about Vietnam to welcome first Thai vaccine passport tourists this month

Vu Dinh Thiem, director of the Clinical Trial Center of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said Tuesday that the third phase trial for the Covivac Covid-19 vaccine needed around 4,000 volunteers. With no district having thousands of unvaccinated residents who qualify for clinical trials, finding the needed volunteers has proved difficult, he said, adding: "As such, the research group has had to suspend clinical trials and look for a different option." Thiem said the team was mulling the idea of researching booster shots to be used in the future. A representative of the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), which produces the Covivac vaccine, said there is no timeframe for resuming the third phase trial. Another Vietnamese vaccine, Nanocovax by Nanogen, is in its third phase of clinical trial. ARCT-154 by Vingroup, which received the production technology from a U.S. firm, and a Covid-19 vaccine by Japanese firm Shionogi are also in trial stages. … [Read more...] about Human trials for Vietnamese Covid vaccine suspended

Singapore's COVID-19 vaccination rate has risen to 96% of the eligible population and authorities are now racing ahead to administer booster shots amid concerns over the Omicron variant. The health ministry of the city-state, which has among the highest vaccination rates in the world, said late on Tuesday that it had updated the official vaccination rate to account for a small drop in the population. As of Nov. 29, 96% of the eligible population had completed the full vaccination regimen, updated from 94%, the ministry said. That translates to about 86% of the total population of about 5.5 million. About two months ago, 82% of the total population had been fully vaccinated against the virus. Singapore had barred unvaccinated people from entering shopping malls from mid-October, and authorities have said they will further tighten rules from Jan. 1, including only allowing vaccinated individuals to enter workplaces. The country has administered boosters to 26% of the … [Read more...] about Singapore close to vaccinating all eligible people against COVID-19

A Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot is being prepared to be administered to high school students in Hà Nội on November 24, 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese health ministry has reassured the public over the quality of two Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine batches that have been greenlit for use three months beyond the expiry date on the packaging. The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (in Hà Nội) previously issued Decision No. 1595 to allocate the 2.96 million doses of Pfizer vaccine in two batches numbered 124001 and 123002, part of Việt Nam’s purchase order with the pharmaceutical company, to be used in the vaccination of children aged 12-17 years old in Việt Nam. The vaccine batch release certificate said they have an expiry date of November 30, 2021, however, the original six-month expiry date has been extended to nine months, or three months after the expiry date printed on the label, based on a decision … [Read more...] about Pfizer vaccine batches usable three months after imprinted expiry date: Health ministry, Pfizer

The World Health Organization warned countries on Tuesday not to impose blanket travel bans over the new Omicron coronavirus variant as governments and scientists try to determine how much protection current vaccines would offer against the strain. Officials offer vaccine reassurance against the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Financial markets fell sharply after the head of drugmaker Moderna said existing COVID-19 vaccines would be less effective against the Omicron variant. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 1.39% a day after broad declines in Europe and Asia. BioNTech's chief executive struck a cautiously positive note, saying the vaccine it makes in a partnership with Pfizer would likely offer strong protection against severe disease from Omicron, which was first reported in southern Africa a week ago. The questions over vaccine effectiveness came as cases of the new variant spread, with the first reported case in Latin America … [Read more...] about Officials offer vaccine reassurance; WHO advises against travel bans