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March
Thailand approves Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Thailand has granted emergency authorisation to Janssen, the single-dose coronavirus vaccine of Johnson & Johnson, the country’s health minister said on Thursday, the third vaccine to be cleared for local use.
Anutin Charnvirankul told reporters the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the vaccine, in addition to those of AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech, which have already been administered in the country.
J&J’s vaccine is called COVID Vaccine Janssen after the J&J unit that developed it.
China’s Sinopharm and the makers of Russia’s Sputnik V and are preparing to submit requests for approval, Paisal Dunkhum head of Thailand’s FDA said.
Moderna has said it would submit an application for approval while India’s Bharat Biotech is in the process submitting documents for vaccine registration, Paisal said.
Thailand, which has recorded just over 28,000 coronavirus cases overall, has administered about 100,000 doses of vaccines among medical workers and high-risk groups so far.
It’s main vaccine drive is expected to start in June, using locally-produced AstraZeneca shots and it plans to inoculate half of its adult population by the end of the year. (Reuters)
March
Climate change set to drive more deadly heat in South Asia
Written by Nur YasminJakarta. Deadly heatwaves in South Asia are likely to become more common in the future, with the region’s exposure to lethal heat stress potentially nearly tripling if global warming isn’t curbed, researchers said.
But the threat could be halved if the world meets a goal set under the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, researchers said in a study published this week by the American Geophysical Union, an international scientific association.
“The future looks bad for South Asia, but the worst can be avoided by containing warming to as low as possible,” Moetasim Ashfaq, a climate scientist at the U.S.-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said in a statement.
Still, with global temperatures already having risen more than 1C, “the need for adaptation over South Asia is today, not in the future. It’s not a choice anymore,” said Ashfaq, the study’s author.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said global climate-heating emissions must fall by about 45% by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, to limit warming to below 2C, the higher temperature goal in the Paris Agreement.
But updated plans to reduce emissions, submitted by at least 75 nations ahead of planned COP26 U.N. climate talks in November, barely made a dent in the huge cuts needed to meet the global climate goals a U.N. report said last month.
The new study used climate simulations and projected population growth to estimate the number of people who could experience dangerous levels of heat stress at warming levels of 1.5C and 2C.
It looked at the predicted “wet bulb temperature”, which accounts for humidity and temperature and aims to more accurately reflects what people experience on a hot day.
Health experts and scientists say that at a wet bulb temperature of 32C labour becomes unsafe and at 35C the body can no longer cool itself.
If warming hits 2C, the number of South Asians exposed to unsafe temperatures could rise two-fold, and nearly three times as many people could face lethal heat, the study said.
In a region home to a quarter of the world’s population that could have a big impact on the ability of workers to produce crops in breadbasket regions such as West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh in India and Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan, study authors said.
Workers in increasingly steamy cities such as Karachi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Peshawar could also be affected, particularly as many do not have access to air conditioning, the study noted.
Pakistan and India already experience deadly heatwaves, with one in 2015 causing about 3,500 deaths, the study noted.
As temperatures rise as a result of climate change, “a policy framework is...needed to fight against heat stress and heat wave-related problems,” said T.V. Lakshmi Kumar, an atmospheric scientist at India’s SRM Institute of Science and Technology, who was not involved in the study. (Reuters)
March
Philippines, Vietnam press China over vessels massing in South China Sea
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed concern to China’s ambassador about Chinese vessels massing in the South China Sea, his spokesman said, as Vietnam urged Beijing to respect its maritime sovereignty.
International concern has grown in recent days over what the Philippines has described as a “swarming and threatening presence” of more than 200 Chinese vessels that it believes were manned by maritime militia.
The boats were moored at the Whitsun Reef within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
“The president said we are really concerned. Any country will be concerned with that number of ships,” Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, told a regular news conference.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Vietnam have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, through which at least $3.4 trillion of annual trade passes.
Roque said Duterte reaffirmed to China’s ambassador, Huang Xilian, that the Philippines had won a landmark arbitration case in 2016, which made clear its sovereign entitlements amid rival claims by China.
China’s maritime assertiveness has put Duterte in an awkward spot throughout his presidency due to his controversial embrace of Beijing and reluctance to speak out against it.
He has instead accused close ally the United States of creating conflict in the South China Sea.
China’s embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment on Duterte’s meeting.
On Wednesday it said the vessels at Whitsun Reef were fishing boats taking refuge from rough seas. A Philippine military spokesman said China’s defence attache had denied there were militia aboard.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang on Thursday said the Chinese vessels at the reef, which Hanoi calls Da Ba Dau, had infringed on its sovereignty.
“Vietnam requests that China stop this violation and respect Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Hang told a regular briefing.
A Vietnamese coastguard vessel could be seen moored near the disputed area on Thursday, according to ship tracking data published by the Marine Traffic website.
Hang said Vietnam’s coastguard was “exercising its duties as regulated by laws”, including international law. (Reuters)
March
AstraZeneca vaccine's global rollout faces more complications
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The rollout of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, the shot much of the world is relying on to beat the pandemic, faced further complications on Thursday as India halted exports of the vaccine and Europe discussed its own export controls.
India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the Anglo-Swedish firm’s vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine maker, to meet domestic demand as infections rise, two sources said.
That could delay supplies to dozens of lower-income countries also relying on SII production under the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme backed by the World Health Organization.
“We understand that deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income economies participating in the COVAX facility will likely face delays...,” the programme’s procurement and distributing partner UNICEF told Reuters.
India’s move comes as the European Union meets on Thursday to consider giving member states greater scope to block vaccines being exported outside the bloc, much of which is struggling to bring infections down and ramp up immunisation campaigns.
The proposal would apply to all vaccines including AstraZeneca’s, on which the EU had originally been relying to meet a goal of inoculating 70% of its adult population by this summer.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine is seen as crucial in tackling the pandemic as it is cheaper and easier to transport than many rival shots.
The EU accuses the drugmaker of over-selling its vaccine and unfairly favouring Britain, where AstraZeneca developed the shot with Oxford University - a charge denied by the company.
Brussels agreed with London this week to strive for a “win-win” solution, but even if the EU resists export controls, it faces another problem: declining confidence in the AstraZeneca shot due to concerns over side-effects and efficacy data.
Denmark will suspend its use of the vaccine for another three weeks pending further investigations into a potential link between the vaccine and blood clots, Danish broadcaster TV 2 reported on Thursday, citing sources.
More than 10 other nations also suspended rollout of the vaccine over similar concerns but most have since restarted. The European Medicines Agency said last week it was safe and not linked with a rise in overall risk of blood clots.
However, many Europeans remain wary.
A third of Danes would refuse the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to a survey published by Danish media on Wednesday. Confidence has also taken a big hit in Spain, Germany, France and Italy.
AstraZeneca revised down, slightly, the vaccine’s efficacy to 76% in a new analysis of its U.S. trial. Interim data published on Monday had put the vaccine’s efficacy rate at 79% but had not included more recent infections, leading to a highly unusual public rebuke from U.S health officials.
AstraZeneca, which is awaiting U.S. regulatory approval, also reiterated the shot was 100% effective against severe or critical forms of COVID-19.
“The vaccine efficacy against severe disease, including death, puts the AZ vaccine in the same ballpark as the other vaccines,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, adding he expects the shot to gain U.S. approval.
The vaccine has already been granted conditional marketing or emergency use authorisation in more than 70 countries.
In Europe, the leaders of France and Germany admitted on Thursday that the problem of slow vaccine rollouts inside the EU went beyond the question of whether to control exports.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU leaders would also discuss how to boost internal production of vaccines.
“British production sites are manufacturing for Britain and the United States is not exporting, so we are reliant on what we can make in Europe,” she told German lawmakers.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU itself should take some blame - that its vaccine plans had lacked ambition.
“We didn’t shoot for the stars,” he told Greek television channel ERT. “That should be a lesson for all of us.” (Reuters)
March
China proposes global rules for central bank digital currencies
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. China proposed a set of global rules for central bank digital currencies on Thursday, from how they can be used around the world to highly sensitive issues such as monitoring and information sharing.
Global central banks are looking at developing digital currencies to modernise their financial systems, ward off the threat from cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and speed up domestic and international payments. China is one of the most advanced in its effort.
Mu Changchun, the director-general of the PBOC’s digital currency institute, laid out the new proposals at a Bank for International Settlements seminar.
“Interoperability should be enabled between CBDC (central bank digital currency) systems of different jurisdictions and exchange,” he said. The PBOC had shared the proposals with other central banks and monetary authorities, he said.
“Information flow and fund flows should be synchronised so as to facilitate regulators to monitor the transactions for compliance.”
As digital currencies such as bitcoin gain more traction with mainstream companies and investors, and as private efforts like the Facebook-backed Diem seek approval, the onus is on central banks to accelerate plans to issue digital cash to fend off threats to their control over money.
The PBOC is aiming to become the first major central bank to issue a CBDC, part of its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce dependence on the dollar-dominated payment system.
The European Central Bank is also exploring the introduction of a digital euro, within the next five years. It’s running into opposition from Germany, though, where the Bundesbank worries that a digital euro could pose risks to banks.
A CBDC that gains wide acceptance in international trade and payments could ultimately erode the dollar’s status as the de facto currency of world trade and undermine U.S. influence, many analysts say.
China said separately on Thursday it would quicken pilot programmes to develop its digital yuan, as it seeks to boost consumption to shore up economic growth.
Mu added that a key global rule should be a “fair supply of digital currencies” by world central banks to continue supporting the healthy evolution and financial stability of the international monetary system.
A “digital currency supplied by one central bank should not impede another central bank’s ability to carry out its mandate for monetary and financial stability,” he said. (Reuters)
March
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 76% effective in updated U.S. trial results
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. AstraZeneca said on Thursday its COVID-19 vaccine was 76% effective at preventing symptomatic illness, citing a new analysis of up-to-date results for its major U.S. trial.
U.S. health officials earlier in the week publicly rebuked the drugmaker for using “outdated information” when calculating that the vaccine was 79% effective.
That marked a new setback for the vaccine that was once hailed as a milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been dogged by questions over its effectiveness and possible side-effects.
AstraZeneca reiterated on Thursday that the shot, developed with Oxford University, was 100% effective against severe or critical forms of the disease.
It also said the vaccine showed 86% efficacy in adults 65 years and older.
The latest trial data, which has yet to be reviewed by independent researchers or regulators, was based on 190 infections and 32,449 participants in the United States, Chile and Peru. The earlier interim data was based on 141 infections through Feb. 17.
The updated 76% efficacy rate compares with rates of about 95% for vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is, however, seen as crucial in tackling the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, not just due to limited vaccine supply but also because it is easier and cheaper to transport than rival shots. It has been granted conditional marketing or emergency use authorization in more than 70 countries.
The shot has faced questions since late last year when the drugmaker and Oxford University published data from an earlier trial with two different efficacy readings as a result of a dosing error.
Then this month, more than a dozen countries temporarily suspended giving out the vaccine after reports linked it to a rare blood clotting disorder in a very small number of people.
The European Union’s drug regulator said last week the vaccine was clearly safe, but Europeans remain sceptical about its safety. (Reuters)
March
Japan says North Korea ballistic missile launch threatens peace
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan on Thursday, Japan’s prime minister said, fuelling tensions ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and ramping up pressure on the new Biden administration in Washington.
North Korea’s ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and if the launch is confirmed it would represent a new challenge to President Joe Biden’s efforts to engage with Pyongyang, which have so far been rebuffed.
The Japanese government said the missiles flew about 450 km (280 miles) and landed outside the Japanese exclusive economic zone.
“The first launch in just less than a year represents a threat to peace and stability in Japan and the region and violates U.N. resolutions,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in comments aired by public broadcaster NHK.
Japan is due to host its delayed and pandemic-affected Olympic Games in less than four months.
Suga said he would ensure a safe and secure Olympics and “thoroughly discuss” North Korea issues including the launches with Biden during his visit to Washington next month.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier reported at least two “unidentified projectiles” were fired into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan from North Korea’s South Hamgyong Province on the east coast.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies were analysing the data of the launch for additional information, the JCS said in a statement.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House will convene an emergency meeting of the national security council to discuss the launches.
U.S. officials confirmed North Korea carried out a new projectile launch, without offering details on the number or kind of projectile detected.
Japan’s coast guard warned ships against coming close to any fallen objects and asked them to provide information to the coast guard.
‘STEP UP’
Over the weekend North Korea fired two short-range cruise missiles, U.S. and South Korean officials said, but Biden played down the those tests as “business as usual” and officials in Washington said they were still open to dialogue with Pyongyang.
Even short-range ballistic missile tests would be a “step up” from the weekend test, and allow North Korea to improve its technology, send a proportionate response to U.S.-South Korea military drills, and signal to the United States that it is improving its arsenal, said Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
The test launches should not torpedo diplomatic efforts, but they are a reminder of the cost of the failure to secure a deal with Pyongyang, he said.
“Every day that passes without a deal that tries to reduce the risks posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile arsenal is a day that it gets bigger and badder,” Narang said.
Biden’s diplomatic overtures to North Korea have gone unanswered, and Pyongyang said it would not engage until Washington dropped hostile policies, including carrying out military drills with South Korea.
The U.S. administration’s North Korea policy review is in its “final stages” and would host the national security advisers of allies Japan and South Korea next week to discuss that, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
North Korea has continued to develop its nuclear and missile programs throughout 2020 in violation of U.N. sanctions dating back to 2006, helping fund them with about $300 million stolen through cyber hacks, according to independent U.N. sanctions monitors.
North Korea has not tested a nuclear weapon or its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) since 2017.
In early 2018 North Korea announced a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and ICBMs, though it says it no longer feels bound by that.
It has tested a number of new short-range missiles that can threaten South Korea and the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed there, most recently in March 2020. (Reuters)
March
EU shouldn't be 'useful idiot' in global vaccine battle - French official
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The European Union shouldn’t be the “useful idiot” of the COVID-19 pandemic by exporting vaccines while other countries keep supplies for themselves, a French official said on Wednesday, backing plans for tougher rules on vaccine exports.
“Europe shouldn’t be a sort of useful idiot in the battle against the virus,” the French presidential adviser told reporters ahead of a virtual EU summit on Thursday.
The European Commission will extend EU powers to potentially block COVID-19 vaccine exports to Britain and other areas with much higher vaccination rates, and to cover instances of companies backloading contracted supplies, EU officials have said.
The regulation is aimed at making vaccine trade reciprocal and proportional so that other vaccine-making countries sell to Europe and the EU does not export much more than it imports, one EU official said.
France will support this updated EU system, the French official said. “We have exported a lot (of vaccines), we’ve played by the rules. The same can’t be said about some of our partners,” he said.
The EU had no interest in entering some sort of “blame game” with Britain on vaccine exports, the official said, adding EU politicians had nothing to gain from the row in the eyes of their own public opinion.
“As far as we’re concerned, we have no willingness, no interest in fuelling permanent controversy with Britain.” (Reuters)
March
India detects 'double mutant' coronavirus variant in western state
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. India has detected a “double mutant variant” of the novel coronavirus in 206 samples in the worst-hit western state of Maharashtra, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The new variant was also detected in nine samples in the capital New Delhi, the director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Sujeet Kumar Singh, told a news conference. (Reuters)
March
China embassy takes swipe at 'fusty' Japan over South China Sea
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. China’s embassy in the Philippines has blamed “some external countries” for stoking tensions in the region, in remarks aimed at Japan after its ambassador stressed the need for peace and stability and in the South China Sea.
China was criticised by the Philippines and the United States this week after Manila said there were about 220 vessels likely manned by Chinese maritime militia anchored in disputed waters.
“Within our region tensions are rising because some external countries are bent on playing fusty geopolitical games,” the Chinese embassy said on Twitter.
“It is a pity that some Asian country, which has disputes in the East China Sea and is driven by the selfish aim to check China’s revitalisation, willingly stoops as a strategic vassal of the U.S.,” it said.
The comment was a direct response to a Twitter remark by Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, who on Tuesday said his country “opposes any action that heightens tensions” in the South China Sea, and supports international efforts to keep the waters peaceful and open.
China’s extensive territorial claims in the East and South China Seas have become a priority issue in an increasingly testy Sino-U.S. relationship and are a security concern for Japan.
The Philippines complained to China at the weekend about what it called the “swarming and threatening presence” of Chinese vessels at the Whitsun Reef.
China’s mission in the Philippines said those were fishing vessels sheltering from rough seas. It also criticised the United States for “fanning flames and provoking confrontation in the region”.
Philippine military chief Cirilito Sobejana on Wednesday said he had instructed the navy to deploy more boats “to increase our visibility and ensure the security and safety of our fishermen.”
Sobejana said China’s defence attache had met Philippine military representatives on Wednesday after being asked to explain the maritime militia, but he had yet to briefed on the meeting. (Reuters)