Category: Asia Pacific
Shanghai officials reported the city’s first COVID-19 deaths since imposing strict city-wide lockdowns due to the recent spread of the omicron variant. Shanghai’s municipal government said on Sunday that three residents, aged 89 to 91, have died due to complications from the virus, Bloomberg reported. The three victims all had underlying health issues, officials noted. […]
Biden administration targets four chemical companies and man said to be world’s leading producer of anabolic steroids The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese painkiller makers – including one man described as the biggest producer of anabolic steroids in the world – as it vowed to step up action to curb the addiction epidemic that […]
India, Egypt and Cuba among first states to develop and make their own vaccines as Covax falls behind Developing countries are increasingly turning to homegrown Covid vaccinations as the UN-backed Covax programme falls behind. While western countries roll out booster jabs to their own populations, Covax, which was set up by UN agencies, governments and […]
After positive clinical trials for antiviral drug Molnupiravir, it joins other medicines that have shown promise Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The first clinical trial results showing a positive effect for a pill that can be taken at home has been hailed as a potential gamechanger that could provide a new […]
Foreign materials including stainless steel identified in batches of Covid-19 vaccine though no safety or efficacy issues have been reported The Moderna coronavirus vaccine programme in Japan has been hit by a series of contamination incidents, prompting it to recall 1.63m doses found to contain metal fragments. Other potential contaminants have been identified in separate […]
Country aims to vaccinate 70% of people this year but experts express doubts amid supply concerns Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Thailand has started its Covid vaccination campaign amid concerns over the supply of doses, which are mainly being produced locally by a royal-owned company that has no prior experience of […]
President says agreement with German firm BioNTech has been delayed after Beijing intervention Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Taiwan’s president has accused China of interfering in its vaccine acquisition programme, as the island continues to battle hundreds of daily new cases of Covid-19 with low supplies of vaccines. Taiwan has received […]
The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine is showing promise but it is premature to say the end of the pandemic is nigh. Several rich countries have signed a ‘frenzy of deals’ that could prevent many poor nations from getting access to immunisation until at least 2024. Also, many drug firms are potentially refusing to waive patents and other intellectual property rights […]
Report reveals country has failed to fully regulate trade despite promises to crack down The Chinese government continues to allow the use of pangolin scales for traditional medicine despite promises to crack down on a trade that has made them the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world. A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency […]