Stuck in a village in southern India for nine months and unable to return to his job in Saudi Arabia, Sugathan P.R. is hoping the World Health Organization will approve the Indian COVID-19 shot Covaxin, paving the way for his trip back.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
SARAJEVO, March 17 (Reuters) - Bosnia plans to buy Russia’s COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccines amid month-long delays in deliveries under the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme and from the European Union, and other Western Balkan countries intend to follow suit.
There has been a spike in coronavirus cases in many countries in recent weeks and inoculation is seen as urgent to lift the burden from health systems and facilitate an easing of virus-curbing restrictions that have also hurt economic growth.
Late on Tuesday, after months of hesitation, the government of Bosnia’s autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation approved the purchase of 500,000 Sputnik V vaccines, under public pressure as coronavirus cases and deaths have spiked over the past weeks.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
MANILA, March 15 (Reuters) - China’s embassy in the Philippines said on Monday it would simplify visa applications for anyone in the country who has been inoculated with Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines to allow regular travel to resume.
China will return to its pre-pandemic visa application requirements for those fully vaccinated with its home-grown vaccines, according to a statement by its embassy in Manila, which is among the first to announce the policy.
The Philippines kicked off its vaccination drive among health workers on March 1, using some of the 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech vaccine, CoronaVac, which were donated by the Chinese government.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Brazil’s biomedical institute Fiocruz has begun talks with AstraZeneca Plc over alternative COVID-19 vaccine sources in case of possible issues surrounding the local production of the shot, a director told Reuters on Friday.
Maurício Zuma, who heads the Fiocruz unit that produces vaccines, said it was still aiming to produce 110 million doses in the second half of the year, but that the complexity of the production and regulatory process in Brazil could stifle those plans.
As a result, he said it was exploring alternatives such as importing more active ingredients or ready doses.
India started exporting coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday with the first shipment to the neighbouring Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the foreign ministry said.