VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

US order waering Masks - NY

A number of countries tightened their borders against a surge in variant strains of the deadly coronavirus as the United States on Saturday (Jan 30) ordered travellers to wear masks on most public transport. 

With doses of the different COVID-19 jabs so far approved for use still in relatively short supply - and mass inoculation programmes in their early stages - Britain and the EU have become embroiled in an ugly row over the shots they had been promised by drugmaker AstraZeneca.

The jab developed by the British-Swedish firm is only the third to be rolled out in Europe. But the company has said it can only deliver a fraction of the doses promised to the Brussels and London because of production problems.

As the World Health Organization warned against vaccine nastionalism, both Britain and EU said Saturday they were confident the problems could be resolved. 

Nevertheless, tensions on either side of the English Channel showed scant sign of easing.

France's European affairs minister Clement Beaune warned that it would pose "a problem" if the UK were given preferential treatment. 

British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab warned that "the world is watching and it is only through international collaboration that we will beat this pandemic".

Nevertheless, Raab said he had been "reassured" in talks with EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovkis that Brussels "has no desire to block suppliers fulfilling contracts for vaccine distribution to the UK".

Germany's vaccine commission has recommended against using it on older people.

And on Saturday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said the government would no longer give priority to people over 65 when giving out the AstraZeneca shots.

Italy has similarly approved the AstraZeneca jab for all adults. But its medicines agency recommended alternatives be given to people aged over 55.

The AIFA agency "authorises the AstraZeneca vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals over the age of 18, as per European Medicines Agency guidance," it said//CNA