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Covid-19: Red Cross sounds vaccines alarm for south-east Asia

South-east Asia has recorded twice as many Covid-related fatalities as North America over the past two weeks. According to the Red Cross that is warned wealthier countries must urgently share their vaccine supplies.

  • The more aggressive Delta variant, combined with a lack of vaccines, is driving record outbreaks in countries across the region from Vietnam to Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. Indonesia, the worst hit, has one of the highest daily death tolls in the world, with 1,466 deaths reported on average over the past seven days.
  • Japan extended its state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions to counter a spike in COVID-19 infections, ahead of the Paralympic Games. The current state of emergency, the fourth of the pandemic so far, was due to expire on 31 August but will now last until 12 September. The emergency will now cover nearly 60% of Japan’s population.
  • The US reported more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, or about 42 fatalities an hour, according to media outlets, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
  • New Zealand’s coronavirus cluster has grown to seven, with genomic sequencing linking it to the Delta outbreak that began in Sydney. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, warned on Wednesday that there would be more cases given the activity of those infected and that a link to the border had yet to be established, adding “there is more to be done to help piece together this puzzle”.
  • “Our ability to narrow down that this is a case that is linked to New South Wales outbreak, gives us a lot of leads to chase down as quickly as we can,” she said.
  • Meanwhile, Pope Francis calling for universal access to vaccines and encouraging people to get their jabs as “an act of love”

However, The UK has approved the use of the US-made Moderna vaccine for 12 to 17-year-olds. The Pfizer jab was given the same approval a few weeks ago.

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