COVID-19 UPDATE: IRAN LAUNCHES TRIAL OF OWN COVID-19 VACCINE, SRI LANKA REOPENS TO TOURISTS

Tue 29 December 2020:

Iran launches trial of own COVID-19 vaccine

Iran launched Tuesday the first phase of a clinical trial of a vaccine developed in the Islamic Republic, the region’s country hardest hit by the pandemic, state television reported.

“The first vaccine against the coronavirus, developed by Iranian researchers, has been unveiled by injecting three people,” the public broadcaster said.

UK virus strain has been in Germany since November

The new coronavirus strain sweeping Britain has been in Germany since November, health officials said Tuesday, after detecting the variant in a patient who died in the north of the country.

Researchers were “able to sequence the variant of the B1.1.7 virus in a person infected in November this year”, the health ministry of Lower Saxony said in a statement referring to the new strain.

Philippines gives green light to trials of Janssen’s vaccine

The Philippines has approved a clinical trial for the Covid-19 vaccine of Johnson & Johnson’s unit Janssen, the head of its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

The trials could begin in the next few weeks, FDA head Rolando Enrique Domingo told a media briefing.

The FDA is still evaluating the late-stage trial applications of Sinovac and Clover, Domingo said.

Sri Lanka reopens to tourists after nine months

Sri Lanka has reopened to tourists after more than nine months.

The Indian Ocean island nation closed to tourists in March, amid the first wave of the coronavirus. Authorities also closed the two main international airports.

The government says a pilot program to attract tourists is now being implemented. The first tourists arrived on a special flight from Ukraine on Monday. The 186 tourists are expected to stay in Sri Lanka for 10 days.

Under the pilot program, which will run to January 24, 2,580 tourists are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka, mostly from CIS countries.

Sri Lanka has confirmed 41,602 cases, including 194 deaths.

Indonesia secures vaccine deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca

Indonesia is finalising deals to secure 50 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca, the new health minister said.

Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the deal with AstraZeneca would be finalised before the end of the year, while an agreement with Pfizer would be signed in the first week of January.

Speaking at his first official news conference, the minister said 1.3 million frontline health workers, 500 of whom have died of Covid-19, would get priority in the vaccination drive.

The world’s fourth most populous country has struggled to contain the coronavirus. It has had nearly 720,000 confirmed cases and 21,500 deaths, among the highest tallies in Asia.

Dubai aims to inoculate 70 percent of population with Pfizer vaccine in 2021

Dubai is planning to inoculate 70 percent of its population with vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech by the end of 2021, in a campaign free of charge for citizens and residents, a health official said.

The financial hub of the United Arab Emirates began the first phase of the vaccination campaign last week, targeting “priority groups”, including those 60 and older, people with chronic medical conditions, those with disabilities and frontline workers.

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