Vaccine
US to swiftly boost global vaccine sharing, Biden announces
President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home.
The doses mark a substantial — and immediate — boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.
The announcement came just hours after World Health Organization officials in Africa made a new plea for vaccine sharing because of an alarming situation on the continent, where shipments have ground to “a near halt” while virus cases have spiked over the past two weeks.
Also read: US unveils strategy for global vaccine sharing with Bangladesh, India on list
Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. Officials say a quarter of the nation’s excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.
Of the first 19 million donated through COVAX, approximately 6 million doses will go to South and Central America, 7 million to Asia and 5 million to Africa.
“As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable,” Biden said in a statement. “And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. “will retain the say” on where doses distributed through COVAX ultimately go.
But he also said: “We’re not seeking to extract concessions, we’re not extorting, we’re not imposing conditions the way that other countries who are providing doses are doing. ... These are doses that are being given, donated free and clear to these countries, for the sole purpose of improving the public health situation and helping end the pandemic.”
The remaining 6 million in the initial distribution of 25 million will be directed by the White House to U.S. allies and partners, including Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, India, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers.
The White House did not say when the doses would begin shipping overseas, but press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration hoped to send them “as quickly as we can logistically get those out the door.”
Vice President Kamala Harris informed some U.S. partners they will begin receiving doses, in separate calls with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador, President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago. Harris is to visit Guatemala and Mexico in the coming week.
Also read: COVAX Facility: Japan to provide 30mn vaccine doses to other countries
The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly — more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose — and as global inequities in supply have become more pronounced.
Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said that 1 million Johnson & Johnson doses were being shipped to South Korea Thursday.
The U.S. has committed more than $4 billion to COVAX, but with vaccine supplies short — and wealthy nations locking up most of them — the greater need than funding has been immediate access to actual doses, to overcome what health officials have long decried as unequal access to the vaccines.
The U.S. action means “frontline workers and at-risk populations will receive potentially life-saving vaccinations” and bring the world “a step closer to ending the acute phase of the pandemic,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, which is leading the COVAX alliance.
However, Tom Hart the acting CEO of The ONE Campaign, said that while Thursday’s announcement was a “welcome step, the Biden administration needs to commit to sharing more doses.
“The world is looking to the U.S. for global leadership, and more ambition is needed,” he said.
Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorized for use in America but is widely approved around the world. The AstraZeneca doses have been held up for export by a weeks-long safety review by the Food and Drug Administration, and without them Biden will be hard pressed to meet his sharing goal.
Also read: Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’
The White House says the initial 25 million doses announced Thursday will be shipped from existing federal stockpiles of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. More doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said via Twitter that Harris had informed him before the White House announcement of the decision to send 1 million doses of the single jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “I expressed to her our appreciation in the name of the people of Mexico,” he wrote.
Guatemala’s Giammattei said Harris told him the U.S. government would send his country 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
As part of its purchase agreements with drug manufacturers, the U.S. controlled the initial production by its domestic manufacturers. Pfizer and Moderna are only now starting to export vaccines produced in the U.S. to overseas customers. The U.S. has hundreds of millions more doses on order, both of authorized and in-development vaccines.
The White House also announced that U.S. producers of vaccine materials and ingredients will no longer have to prioritize orders from three drugmakers working on COVID-19 shots that haven’t received U.S. approval — Sanofi, Novavax and AstraZeneca — clearing the way for more materials to be shipped overseas to help production there.
WHO validates Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing.
The vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
“The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe,” said Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Health Products. “We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control.”
WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply and international procurement.
It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
The EUL assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as risk management plans and programmatic suitability, such as cold chain requirements.
The assessment is performed by the product evaluation group, composed by regulatory experts from around the world and a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), in charge of performing the risk-benefit assessment for an independent recommendation on whether a vaccine can be listed for emergency use and, if so, under which conditions.
In the case of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, the WHO assessment included on-site inspections of the production facility.
The Sinovac-CoronaVac product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has also completed its review of the vaccine. On the basis of available evidence, WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.
Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe COVID-19 and hospitalization in 100% of the studied population.
Few older adults (over 60 years) were enrolled in clinical trials, so efficacy could not be estimated in this age group.
Nevertheless, WHO is not recommending an upper age limit for the vaccine because data collected during subsequent use in multiple countries and supportive immunogenicity data suggest the vaccine is likely to have a protective effect in older persons.
There is no reason to believe that the vaccine has a different safety profile in older and younger populations.
WHO recommends that countries using the vaccine in older age groups conduct safety and effectiveness monitoring to verify the expected impact and contribute to making the recommendation more robust for all countries.
READ: Panel suggests WHO should have more power to stop pandemics
WHO emergency use listing
The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies.
The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality.
The assessment weighs the threat posed by the emergency as well as the benefit that would accrue from the use of the product against any potential risks.
The EUL pathway involves a rigorous assessment of late phase II and phase III clinical trial data as well as substantial additional data on safety, efficacy, quality and a risk management plan with a focus on low- and middle-income country needs.
These data are reviewed by independent experts and WHO teams who consider the current body of evidence on the vaccine under consideration, the plans for monitoring its use, and plans for further studies.
As part of the EUL process, the company producing the vaccine must commit to continue to generate data to enable full licensure and WHO prequalification of the vaccine.
The WHO prequalification process will assess additional clinical data generated from vaccine trials and deployment on a rolling basis to ensure the vaccine meets the necessary standards of quality, safety and efficacy for broader availability.
READ: German minister laments choice of Syria for WHO board seat
WHO has already listed the Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India, Astra Zeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm vaccines for emergency use.
1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine doses reach Dhaka
The first batch of 1.06 lakh doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka Monday night under the global vaccine initiative Covax facility.
A regular flight of Emirates landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:10pm with the doses and Md Shamsul Haque, a line director at the Directorate General of Health Services, received them, Dr Nasrin Akhter, a medical officer at the airport's health centre, confirmed.
COVAX, the facility set up by the World Health Organization and several non-profits to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to developing nations, is working in partnership with Unicef, developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others.
READ: European regulators OK Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15
On May 27, the Directorate General of Drug Administration approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.
So far four vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca (Covishield), Sputnik-V, Sinopharm, and Pfizer-BioNTech – have got emergency use authorisation in the country.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity.
READ: COVID-19: Bangladesh to receive over 1 lakh Pfizer vaccine on Sunday
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the storage of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to one month, to make the vaccine more widely available.
Covid-19 claims 38 more lives in Bangladesh; new cases 1,043
Bangladesh registered 38 more Coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, pushing up the total fatalities to 12,549.
Besides, 1,043 more people came out positive in 13,184 sample tests carried out during the period.
The mortality rate remained static at 1.57 percent while the positivity rate declined to 7.91 percent from Friday’s 9.30 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Among the deceased, eight died in Dhaka division, four in Chattogram, seven each in Rajshahi and Khulna, five in Sylhet, four in Rangpur, two in Mymensigh and one in Barishal.
With the news cases, the total caseload reached 7,93,386 while the total number of recoveries is 7,37,408, including 1,187 in the last 24 hours.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
READ: Bangladesh loses 31 more lives to Covid-19
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
The administering of the first dose of the vaccine has remained suspended since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the arrival of shipments from India.
However, recently two other vaccines, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm, got approval from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for emergency use in Bangladesh.
The administering of the first doses of the Sinopharm vaccine started Tuesday.
READ: COVID-19: Bangladesh to receive over 1 lakh Pfizer vaccine on Sunday
Residents fret as Faridpur runs out of Covid jabs
A total of 18,700 people in Faridpur, who have taken their first Covid-19 shot, are now worried about getting their second dose on time as uncertainty looms over the import of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India amid a shortage in that country.
However, local administration sources claimed said that the second dose of the vaccine will be given to those waiting for the same, as scheduled.
Advocate Shipra Goswami, president of Faridpur Sacheton Nagarik Committee, said, “The government is trying its best to import Covishield from the Serum Institute of India but health authorities should stick to a plan to administer the same."
Faridpur Civil Surgeon Dr Siddiqur Rahman said that some 63,663 people have taken the first dose of Covishield to date. "On the other hand, 44,934 people have already got their second dose in the district. So, the remaining 18,730 people are yet to get their second shot," he told UNB.
READ: Dhaka calls for tech transfer & IPR waiver to produce Covid jabs
“We ran out of Covishield three days back, but have continued to administer the Covid vaccine by sourcing the same from neighbouring districts. Now, we have zero stock of the vaccine,” said Dr Siddiqur.
He also said that the government is trying to best to procure the vaccine doses "and we hope to resume inoculation soon".
Deputy Commissioner Atul Sarkar said, "The government is sincere in its efforts to get the jabs for its people. Already the Covid-19 vaccine from China has arrived and those from other countries will also come soon. All the residents will get the jab as per the government’s policy."
The administration of the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has remained suspended in Bangladesh since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca shots, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to a shortage of the vaccine amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, recently two other vaccines, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm, got approval from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses acquired from India's Serum Institute.
European regulators OK Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15
The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended that the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech be expanded to children ages 12 to 15, a decision that offers younger and less at-risk populations across the continent access to a COVID-19 shot for the first time.
The vaccine was the first one granted authorization across the European Union when it was licensed for use in anyone 16 and over in December. So far, about 173 million doses of the shot have been administered in the 27-nation bloc, about three quarters of the total given.
“Extending the protection of a safe and effective vaccine in this younger population is an important step forward in the fight against this pandemic,” said Marco Cavaleri, who heads the EMA body that reviewed the vaccine.
The EU regulator had received the necessary data to authorize the vaccine for younger teens and found it to be highly effective against infection, he said.
Also read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine
In a study involving 2,000 adolescents in the United States, none of those who received the vaccine got COVID-19, compared with 16 in a control group who received a placebo, said Cavaleri.
“The vaccine was well tolerated and the side effect in this age group were very much similar (to) what we’ve seen in young adults and not raising major concern at this point in time,” he added.
The EMA decision needs to be rubber-stamped by the European Commission, and individual national regulators must decide whether the vaccine will be administered to children under 16.
The recommendation follows similar decisions by regulators in Canada and the U.S. last month, as rich countries slowly approach their vaccination targets for adults and look to immunize as many people as possible.
Also read: Britain yet to decide on Pfizer offer to vaccinate Olympians
Researchers will continue to monitor the shot’s long-term protection and safety in the children for another two years.
Most COVID-19 vaccines worldwide have been authorized for adults, who are at higher risk of severe disease and death from the coronavirus. But vaccinating children of all ages could be critical to stopping outbreaks, since some research has shown older children may play a role in spreading the virus even though they don’t typically fall seriously ill.
In the U.S., children represent about 14% of the country’s coronavirus cases and at least 316 have died, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Doctors have also identified a rare inflammatory syndrome in a very small proportion of children sickened by COVID-19.
Immunizing children against COVID-19 might also give authorities more confidence to reopen schools, as getting children to wear masks and engage in social distancing has been challenging at times.
Also read: Pfizer COVID-19 shot expanded to US children as young as 12
But the World Health Organization has criticized rich countries for moving on to vaccinate their younger and less at-risk populations, saying that the extremely limited number of COVID-19 vaccines should instead be shared with poor countries so they too can protect their health workers and those most vulnerable.
“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this month, referring to the U.N.-backed initiative to distribute vaccines fairly. Of the more than 1 billion COVID-19 shots administered globally, fewer than 2% have gone to poor countries.
Other vaccine makers also are studying whether their shots are safe and effective in children. Earlier this week, Moderna Inc. said its shot strongly protects children as young as 12; it said it would submit a request for emergency use authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next month. Another U.S. company, Novavax, has a COVID-19 vaccine in late-stage development and just began a study in 12- to 17-year-olds.
Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been testing their vaccines in children from age 11 down to six months; they get a lower dose than what teens and adults receive. China’s Sinovac has also submitted early data to the country’s regulators, hoping to prove its vaccine is safe in children as young as 3.
Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine
The government of Bangladesh has approved the emergency use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) issued a press release in this regard on Thursday.
This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Recently two other vaccines , Sputnik V produced by Generium Joint Stock Company of Russia, and Sinopharm produced by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd of China got approval of DGDA for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Earlier on January 7, DGDA approved the emergency use of Covishield vaccine, also known as SARS Cov-2 AZD1222, Oxford/ Astra zeneca vaccine, produced by Serum Institute of India.
Earlier on May 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said that the country will get at least 106,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine under the Covax facility.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity, according to a BBC report.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized storage of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to one month, in an effort to make the vaccine more widely available.
Countries eager to reopen to travel as pandemic recedes
Countries reliant on tourism are racing to reopen borders and revive economies decimated by the pandemic.
The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the sector lost nearly $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs last year. Airlines alone lost $126 billion last year and are on track to lose another $48 billion this year, according to their largest trade group.
The rollout of vaccines against COVID-19 is giving government officials in many countries new confidence to welcome visitors. But time is critical.
“Summer is a strong season for most markets, particularly Europe and the U.K. We really hope to see restrictions ease,” said Virginia Messina, interim leader of the World Travel & Tourism Council.
The patchwork of rules around the globe can be hard to follow for anyone planning a trip. Cyprus, for instance, has restrictions in place for countries deemed as higher risk, requiring arriving passengers to have a negative PCR test that’s valid 72 hours prior to their departure and to undergo a new test upon arrival. They also have to self-isolate in Cyprus until their test results are issued.
Read:Eyeing variant, France mulls tighter limits for UK tourists
Constantinos Victoras, general manager of NissiBlu Hotel, situated near Ayia Napa’s famed white-sand beach, says even though the infection rate in Cyprus has dropped significantly in the last two weeks, it won’t be until late June when things will be clear enough for tour operators and airlines to ramp up bookings.
“Uncertainty is too great right now,” Victoras said.
Agatha and Simon Godurkiewicz of Sweden, said they chose to holiday on the island out of fatigue with the pandemic, and that people simply want to get on with their lives and return to some semblance of normality.
“We’re tired of the virus situation,” said Agatha Godurkiewicz. “It was panic at the start of the pandemic but it’s become too much now.”
Here’s how different regions are trying to reopen to travel:
EUROPE
Europe has been opening slowly, testing the patience of Mediterranean countries that rely heavily on tourism, including Greece, Spain, and Turkey. That is changing now, as European Union ambassadors agreed last week to allow in visitors who are fully vaccinated or are from a now-expanded list of countries whose citizens are deemed to be safe.
EU member countries still have to approve the changes, and it’s not clear exactly when they would take effect.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Friday that Spain will let British and Japanese visitors enter the country starting Monday if they have been vaccinated and people from other countries, including the United States, on June 7.
Tourists are already beginning to show up in Greece after authorities there decided this month to accept vaccination and test certificates from the European Union and 21 other countries.
On the Greek island of Naxos, business owners began pulling tables and chairs out of storage, power-washing wooden decks and reopening once-jammed seaside tavernas.
“People here are optimistic and, indeed, there have been many bookings in the last two weeks,” Naxos Mayor Dimitris Lianos said. “There could be a significant comeback of the tourist season even in the latter half of the year. I dare to say it.”
Croatia has also reopened — one of the few spots in Europe that’s easy for Americans to visit. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have announced direct flights from New York to Dubrovnik this summer.
ASIA
The virus is surging again across parts of Asia, causing several nations to halt cautious steps they had been taking to reopen.
Read:Vaccine inequality in India sends many falling through gaps
Hong Kong and Singapore postponed a quarantine-free “travel bubble” for a second time after a new outbreak, and Hong Kong lengthened mandatory quarantines for many unvaccinated visitors. China set up checkpoints at toll booths, airports and train stations in Liaoning province, site of new cases this month — travelers must show proof of a recent negative test for the virus.
Thailand, which closed its borders and managed to keep outbreaks under control for most of last year, gradually began allowing entry to some foreign visitors in the fall under strict controls. But the country reversed course when it became overwhelmed by its worst outbreak in late March.
Bangkok closed entertainment venues and parks, ordered more people to work from home, and banned outdoor dining. Streets in the capital and many of Thailand’s resorts are nearly deserted, and people who have lost tourism-related jobs are second-guessing the authorities.
“I am very angry with the government. They should have done better,” said Narong, a worker in a Bangkok bar who declined to give his surname for fear of getting in trouble.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
At the height of the pandemic last year, the United Arab Emirates closed its borders and shuttered airports to travelers. The capital, Abu Dhabi, still has strict measures including mandatory quarantines even for fully vaccinated residents returning from certain countries. But the UAE’s biggest city, Dubai, has opened its doors to travelers since last July with few restrictions beyond a negative COVID-19 test.
Dubai — home to the world’s busiest airport for international travel — is courting visitors fleeing lockdowns in Europe with open beaches, bars, hotel pools, restaurants, movie theaters, theme parks and spas. Social distancing and mask mandates are in place.
Meanwhile, the Gulf’s largest country of Saudi Arabia is not permitting tourists into the country. Saudi citizens, who have largely been banned from travel since March 2020, are allowed to travel abroad starting this month if they have been vaccinated or recently recovered from the virus.
Egypt is trying to draw more foreign tourists even as it deals with a new wave of infections. It exempted beaches, cafes and restaurants tied to tourist hotels from new restrictions, like an earlier curfew and the closure of public beaches and parks during the Eid holiday. It even lowered the cost of tourist visas, although it still requires a negative COVID-19 test before entering the country.
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Visitors to the tourism-dependent Caribbean tumbled by two-thirds last year to levels not seen since the 1980s. Bermuda was among the hardest hit, suffering an 84% drop.
A handful of islands, including Bonaire, Martinique and Montserrat, still ban travel from most countries. Elsewhere, tourists are trickling back under requirements that include electronic monitoring. Some islands, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, have created “bubble resorts” to take tourists. Cruise lines are planning to shift ships from the U.S. to Caribbean ports this summer.
The U.S. Virgin Islands have been the region’s success story this year, with arrivals down a modest 27% from January through March — much of that due to Americans who are forbidden in other places and can visit the U.S. territory without a passport if they avoid going through another country on the way.
Mexico has no flight restrictions, no requirements for visitors to pass a test or quarantine upon arrival. That has kept a reduced but steady flow of tourists, especially to beach destinations.
Mexico’s laid-back approach, however, could be creating a backlash in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancún and Cozumel and where tourism accounts for 87% of the economy. Infection and hospitalization rates are rising, and stricter capacity limits have been imposed in public places.
Read:In Argentina, doctors adapt as COVID-19 strains hospitals
“If nothing is done right now in reducing activities in public, this trend will grow and grow and grow and grow,” the federal government’s point man on the pandemic, Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell, warned this month.
U.S. AND CANADA
The U.S. continues to bar most visitors from Europe, China, India, Brazil and other places. Inbound international travelers, including American citizens, must pass a COVID-19 test before boarding flights. The State Department discourages foreign trips, labeling most of the world’s countries high-risk.
The border between the U.S. and Canada remains closed to nonessential travel through June 21.
Domestic air travel in the U.S. is nearly back to 2019 levels, but travel-industry groups are growing impatient with what they see as an overly timid response by the Biden administration to allowing more international visitors.
“As we continue to see vaccination rates increase and infection rates decrease, it’s absolutely critical from an economic standpoint to reopen international travel,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of the U.S. Travel Association.
Bangladesh begins administering 1st dose of Chinese vaccine
Bangladesh on Tuesday began administering the first dose of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, marking a major turning point in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque inaugurated the inoculation programme at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
On May 12, Bangladesh received 5 lakh China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine doses, donated by the Chinese government.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, China and Bangladesh have been supporting and assisting each other in their fight against the pandemic.
China has donated and is donating vaccine doses to 80 developing countries with urgent needs, and has provided support under COVAX for the emergency use of vaccines in developing countries.
Also read: Process to procure vaccine from China at final stage: FM
China has fulfilled its commitment to make the Covid-19 vaccine a global public good with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China’s contribution to the realisation of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.
China says it will continue to make joint efforts with Bangladesh to make positive contributions to Bangladesh’s endeavour of protecting human lives and fight to win the battle against the pandemic, and together to build an even closer community of shared future and health for mankind.
Ready to stand with Bangladesh, S Asian countries to defeat pandemic: China
China has said it will continue to support Bangladesh's fight against COVID-19 and is willing to facilitate the discussion of cooperation in "vaccine filling" between Chinese and Bangladeshi companies.
China also said as a "good neighbour, partner and friend" of South Asian countries, it is ready to stand with the people of all countries, including Bangladesh, until the coronavirus pandemic is defeated.
"South Asia is currently facing the severe challenges of a new round of pandemic," said State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi when he had a phone conversation with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday evening.
Wang Yi said that the COVID-19 pandemic is the common enemy of humanity.
There is a greater need for neighbouring countries to render mutual assistance and overcome adversities, he said.
Read: Covid vaccine: China to send additional 6 lakh doses as gift
Wang Yi said that in March this year, President Xi Jinping sent a video message to an event hosted by Bangladesh in commemoration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence, which injected strong impetus to the development of China-Bangladesh relations.
The Chinese Foreign Minister said the two countries have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests.
"China will continue to support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bangladesh," he said.
Wang Yi hoped that the two countries will earnestly advance the Belt and Road cooperation, ensure early completion of key projects, expand cooperation in the fields of information, communication and digital economy, and create new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Bangladesh.
Dr Momen extended congratulations on the successful Mars landing of China's probe, and his gratitude for China's invaluable support and strong assistance in Bangladesh's fight against the pandemic.
He said that Bangladesh will always adhere to the one-China principle, and continue to staunchly support China on the issues concerning Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights.
Read: More countries approached for vaccines; talks with China at final stage: FM
Dr Momen said Bangladesh is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in pandemic control and economic recovery, and push the Bangladesh-China strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.
He also highly appreciated China's positive role on the question of Palestine recently.