These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine could soon be available in Singapore
China's Sinopharm vaccine could soon be made available in Singapore, with several private healthcare groups already taking steps to secure doses of the jab. This will likely see it becoming the fourth Covid-19 vaccine available here, as the country ramps up nationwide vaccination rates in order to ease restrictions on social gatherings and get the economy back to normal. IHH Healthcare Singapore told The Straits Times that the Health Sciences Authority has given approval for it to import the Sinopharm vaccine under the Special Access Route framework. "This will give people in Singapore access to another... vaccine option," said Dr Noel Yeo, the group's chief operating officer. "Details are still being worked out at the moment. We will make a formal announcement when more information becomes available." Separately, Raffles Medical Group has put up a Facebook post asking people to register their interest in the Chinese vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus to elicit protection against Covid-19. The Straits Times has approached the group for comment. The Special Access Route framework allows private healthcare groups to bring in Covid-19 vaccines that have been put on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) emergency-use listing. These include China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, as well as those made by Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca. The authorities have also signed advance purchase agreements with American biotechnology company Novavax to secure its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, with supplies possibly arriving before the end of the year. If approved, it will be part of the national vaccine programme. Unlike vaccines administered under the Pandemic Special Access Route framework - such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna jabs under the national vaccination programme - Special Access Route vaccines are not subsidised by the Government. They are also not covered under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme, which supports people who suffer adverse effects from their Covid-19 jabs. To date, Singapore has vaccinated 4.3 million people under the national vaccination programme. Roughly three-quarters have completed the full vaccination regimen. As at Monday (July 26), private healthcare groups had also administered 89,047 doses of the Sinovac vaccine. The Sinopharm vaccine is administered in two doses given three to four weeks apart. It is approved for use in those aged 18 and above. According to the WHO, a large, multi-country phase three trial showed that the vaccine is 79 per cent effective against symptomatic disease two weeks after the second dose. It was also reported to be 79 per cent effective against hospitalisation. – The Straits Times
553,871 vaccine doses administered yesterday
Malaysia's Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme has been on a steady climb which saw a total of 553,871 doses administered to the population yesterday. This brings the total cumulative vaccine doses administered to 18,393,347. In an infographic shared by the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV), said the Covid-19 Task Force (CITF) cited that 356,112 first doses were given, while 197,759 second shots were injected. The statistics was a rise compared to July 26's total of 521,923 doses where 333,621 people were inoculated against Covid-19 with their first dose and 188,302 others given their second dose. On July 25, 399,135 doses were given where 281,481 and 117,654 were first and second doses respectively. Yesterday, Selangor recorded the largest number of Covid-19 immunisation given at 84,409 for the first dose and 56,773 second dose. In Kuala Lumpur, 57,525 first dose and 35,592 second dose were administered while in Johor, 40,791 and 5,405 first and second doses were given. In Sabah, 29,560 first dose and 2,250 second dose were given followed by Penang with 23,042 first dose and 7,669 second dose. In Pahang, 21,735 first dose and 5,335 doses were given while in Kelantan, 17,279 first dose and 7,393 second dose were administered. The CITF said under Ops Surge Capacity in the Klang Valley, currently 82.9 per cent (144,285) of the adult population have received their first dose while 29.7 per cent (94,233) have been given their second dose bringing the total of jabs provided to a total of 238,518. – New Straits Times
PM gauges virus review
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has estimated the intense Covid-19 situation will affect the country for the next two to three weeks or four weeks at most, said Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha. Mr Sathit said Gen Prayut told this to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday where the PM added that relevant agencies must let people know the reality of the situation. The country has logged more than 10,000 new cases daily in recent days with daily fatalities frequently topping 100. The kingdom had a record high of 16,533 new Covid-19 cases and 133 new fatalities over the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Wednesday morning. Mr Sathit said the prime minister has given a directive that in 14 days, the lockdown and the curfew will be reviewed and a decision will be made based on the severity of the situation at that time. Any decision to step up the restrictions after 14 days rests with the Department of Disease Control and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, he said. The deputy public health minister said the cabinet meeting discussed measures underway to bring down the Covid-19 curve, including sending those infected back for treatment in their home provinces so to alleviate overcrowding at hospitals and medical facilities in the hardest-hit provinces, including Bangkok. – Bangkok Post
Philippines to bring home multiple Olympic medals for first time since 1932
For the first time since Los Angeles 1932 Games, the Philippines will finish with multiple medallists in the Olympics. As of Wednesday, the Philippine delegation to the Tokyo Olympics has now secured two medals after Hidilyn Diaz’s gold in weightlifting and Nesthy Petecio’s guaranteed bronze in boxing. Philippines' Nesthy Petecio (guaranteed bronze) and Petechia Hidilyn Diaz (gold) are the country's first medals of Tokyo Olympics so far. But more medals are expected to come for the Philippines with three more boxers headed by Eumir Marcial still in contention and other top bets in reigning US Women’s Open golf champion Yuka Saso, fast-rising pole vaulter EJ Obiena among others yet to see action in their respective events. World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo will also compete in the medal round of vault on Aug. 2. Tokyo 2020 is already considered as a banner Olympic year for the Philippines following Diaz’s accomplishment and Petecio’s sure podium. Diaz’s feat completed the near-century old quest for the gold medal by the Philippines, which first participated in the Olympics in Paris 1924. In 1932, the Philippines plucked three bronze medals courtesy of athletics’ Simeon Toribio, bantamweight boxer Jose Villanueva and swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso. Yldefonso was also the first Filipino to win an Olympic medal after he bagged the bronze in Amsterdam 1928. Since then, the Philippines has managed to win just six medals from the 1936 Berlin Games to Rio 2016 with the exception of the Moscow edition in 1980 where the country did not participate due to the Soviet-Afghan war. Diaz came close to delivering the country’s breakthrough gold in 2016 after seizing the silver. Boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco also won silver in Atlanta 1996 in a light flyweight final that ended in highly controversial fashion. In between Velasco and Diaz’s silver finishes, the Philippine contingent came home empty-handed in four straight Games. – INQUIRER.net
Viet Nam signs vaccine technology transfer contracts with Japan, US and Russia
Viet Nam has signed COVID-19 vaccine technology transfer contracts with Russia, the US, and Japan, said Nguyen Ngo Quang, Deputy Director of the Health Ministry’s Department for Science, Technology and Training. According to the official, one of the three was sealed between two Vietnamese companies - the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (VABIOTECH) and the International Progressive Joint Stock Company (AIC) – and Japanese pharmaceutical firm Shionogi. VABIOTECH, a State-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Health, is one of the leading units in the field of research, manufacture and sale of vaccines and biological products for human use in the country. Their deal targeted the transfer of the Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein, a baculovirus expression vector system, with the parties signing a confidentiality agreement to access vaccine and technology records. Regarding the technology transfer project between the AIC and Shionogi, the Ministry of Health has signed a cooperation agreement and is preparing a plan to conduct the third phase of clinical trials in Viet Nam (via the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology) and procedures for technology transfer (via VABIOTECH). It is expected that the vaccine will be completed and on the market in June 2022. The second contract involving the Russian Sputnik V vaccine was inked between VABIOTECH, DS-Bio, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, with the Vietnamese side in charge of packaging the vaccine tubes from the semi-finished products. VABIOTECH has sent its sample tubes to Russia for quality checks. After related tests finish on August 10 as scheduled, Sputnik-V vaccine tubes would be produced under the contract at a volume of 5 million doses per month. It would start with 500,000 doses in August and later scale up to 100 million doses per year. For technology transfer project with US partners, the Ministry of Health has sent a group of experts to coordinate with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support relevant units in completing dossiers for clinical trials according to a shortened process, with the research expected to start on August 1 and end in late December. Vingroup controlled-VinBiocare is reported to be in negotiations with Arcturus Therapeutics, maker of a mRNA COVID-19, for the phase 3 trials in Viet Nam and subsequent production. The transfer and the building of a vaccine factory in Viet Nam will be completed in June 2022. – Viet Nam News
Asymptomatic Delta variant virus carriers may be biggest threat to COVID-19 case hike in Cambodia
The World Health Organisation has said Cambodia had to be mindful, watchful and vigilant against asymptomatic Delta or Delta Plus variant COVID-19 carriers. These carriers may have hidden infections and extreme vigilance is needed as not everyone infected with the virus would develop symptoms. Dr Li Ailan said “The numbers of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths remain significantly high. This is a clear indicator that that measures to contain the virus are not yet successful and this has led to community transmission ongoing. “The Delta variant has replaced other variants as the dominant virus in many countries and Cambodia will follow suit, unfortunately. Cambodia needs to anticipate such scenarios as the Delta variant or even Delta plus is already in the community and once it gets hold of unvaccinated people, there will be utter devastation as case numbers will spike, along with deaths and hospitalisations, putting further strain on the health care system,” she said. A total of 70 imported Delta variant cases had been detected in Cambodia as of July 19 among returning workers to Cambodia. The variant, at that time, had not been identified in the community as of that date, the WHO said, a situation which has changed as of Tuesday when the Cambodian Ministry of Health revealed that with the discovery of 39 Delta infected COVID-19 cases, the total number of Delta infected patients had increased to more than 150. “The danger here is that this is no longer a variant confined to the imported cases category as local infections have also been detected. “Up to 18 local cases have been detected to date, including four health officials, six community direct contacts and another eight community indirect contact cases. As to workers who got infected with the Delta virus, they were residents of Banteay Meanchey (5), Oddar Meanchey (11), Siem Reap (11), Kampong Thom (3), and Battambang each (3), Pailin (4), Tbuong Khmum (1), Kampong Cham (1) and Kampong Thom (2). “The biggest concern is our front-line health workers as you can see from the figures above, four health officials have been infected with the Delta variant and they most likely contracted the strain from migrant workers from Thailand. These health workers were involved in executing Covid-19 rapid tests at the O’Smach border checkpoint,” health officials told Khmer Times. They added that they feared the numbers could be much larger and wider spread given the fact that sequencing of the Delta variant can only be done at the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh and it can take up to five days to get a result. “Even normal PCR test now takes up to three or even four days to get a result to confirm positive or negative and during this period, the patients could have slipped into advanced stages of COVID-19.” – Khmer Times
‘It was like hell’ - multiple Covid-19 patients reported dead at Yangon hospital after oxygen supply fails
Multiple Covid-19 patients died at a hospital in Yangon on Saturday after a system supplying them with oxygen via wall-mounted pipes shut down, according to several witnesses. At least eight people succumbed to hypoxia on a single ward when the oxygen cut out at around 3.30am at the North Okkalapa General Hospital, one man who was caring for someone on the ward when the incident happened told Myanmar Now. “Many patients with serious symptoms died that night. It was like hell,” he said. The man, who had been at the hospital’s Isolation Ward 2 for around three weeks, said every Covid-19 patient who died was relying on the wall-mounted system. Another 15 people died in the emergency room, he said, adding that an employee from the hospital’s mortuary had told him the bodies were not collected until the following afternoon. "I asked him why. He said that the oxygen line for the entire hospital was damaged and the number of deaths is high. There were so many deaths that there were not enough people to transport the bodies to the mortuary,” he said. Myanmar Now was unable to confirm the total number of deaths. Dr Kyi Soe, the hospital’s superintendent, could not be reached for comment. Another man who was caring for someone on Isolation Ward 2 when the oxygen cut out said he saw a 30-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman die. "At about 3am, a person who was breathing with the help of an oxygen machine suffered hypoxia,” he said. “That’s when we became aware of the problem. It was just the beginning. The oxygen levels of all the patients in the ward were dropping while we watched.” About 50 Covid-19 patients were staying on the ward, the sources said. One of those who died was Dr Shwe Tun, the 63-year-old vice-chairperson of the Shwe Pyae Sone hepatitis B prevention charity, a family member told Myanmar Now. The relative declined to give further details of the incident. Another witness, who was taking care of both his mother and father at the hospital, said he saw the bodies of about nine patients who died of hypoxia on Isolation Ward 2, as well as more bodies from the intensive care unit. An hour after the oxygen failed, oxygen cylinders and concentrators were delivered to the hospital, but there were not enough for all the patients, the sources said. The supply came back on at around 8am. It is unclear what caused the system to fail. The day before the incident the junta-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar reported that “insurgents” had destroyed the oxygen pipeline supplying the hospital’s intensive care unit. “Therefore, only 25 per cent of oxygen was supplied to the patients and it also caused casualties,” the report said. “The officials repaired the pipeline yesterday and provided the needed oxygen to the patients as usual.” The witnesses from the isolation ward said the hospital was guarded by two military trucks, soldiers and police, and that they doubted outsiders could have come in and damaged the pipe. The son of a hospital staff member said he saw oxygen pipelines being repaired on July 22, two days before the incident on Saturday morning. He speculated that trucks damaged the pipelines, which run just below ground. "The pipeline is underground. When the big trucks came, I think the lines were hit and broken. It is unlikely that they were vandalised,” he said. Another man who was caring for a patient at the hospital said that he saw a group of men enter the compound on the night of July 23, hours before the incident, and inspect the oxygen pipeline. "On that night, I don’t know whether they inspected or cut the line,” he said. “They came as a group. They pointed flashlights. I think they were from a governmental department. They came in plainclothes. I don’t know what kind of department it was.” – Myanmar NOW
Tangerang's 98 percent self-isolating patients recover from COVID-19
Head of the Tangerang Health Service Dr Liza Puspadewi claimed that 98 percent of the patients, who underwent self-isolation at home, recovered from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). "Based on the SiLacak and SiRona applications, 98 percent of asymptomatic patients were declared healthy after self-isolating at home for 10 days, according to the Health Ministry’s guidelines," Puspadewi stated in Tangerang, Tuesday (July 27). The doctor noted that the condition of only one to two percent of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients had worsened to moderate and severe symptoms. Asymptomatic patients in Tangerang mostly opted to self-isolate in their respective homes. The Tangerang government provided the patients with supervision and medicines from the nearest community health center and also monitored them through the SiLacak application. The government also sent out logistics and cooked meals for asymptomatic patients. According to the Health Ministry’s data, 90 percent of the COVID-19 patients treated at hospitals are unvaccinated. "I emphasize that the vaccine helps prevent you from getting infected with COVID-19, but even if you are exposed to the virus, you would experience milder symptoms due to being vaccinated. This was also proven in the current condition of COVID-19 patients in Tangerang," Puspadewi pointed out. Based on covid19.tangerangkota.go.id on Tuesday (July 27), the number of recovered patients went up by 334 people to reach 16,462. Meanwhile 6,972 people were currently confirmed to have undergone treatment. Tangerang Mayor Arief R. Wismansyah had earlier stated that the Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR) at Tangerang hospitals had dropped, from 80 percent to 72 percent during the emergency public activity restriction (PPKM darurat) since July 3. "Our evaluation showed that the BOR in several hospitals went down during the emergency PPKM. Now, Tangerang City is placed on Level 4 PPKM," Wismansyah stated in Tangerang on Monday. However, the mayor appealed to all elements in the Tangerang city government to always implement and raise awareness about health protocols for the public. "We do not want our people to misunderstand the new regulation of Level 4 PPKM. We must stay disciplined and always apply health protocols," Wismansyah said. – AntaraNews.Com