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April
Australia recommends the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to people under 50
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Australia said on Thursday it now recommends the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine over that produced by AstraZeneca. for people under the age of 50.
Europe’s drug regulator on Wednesday found a possible link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and rare blood clotting issues in adults who had received the shot and said it had taken into consideration all available evidence.
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said that while the risk is extremely low, the country’s experts have changed their advice for those at greatest risk.
Australia will continue to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 70. (Reuters)
April
Japan, UAE to collaborate on hydrogen technology, supply chain
Written by Nur YasminJakarta. Japan and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday agreed to work together on technology to produce hydrogen and create an international supply chain, Japan’s industry ministry said.
The collaboration, marked by a memorandum of cooperation between the oil-producing UAE and energy-importer Japan, reflects mounting enthusiasm for investment in hydrogen, which offers potential to help fight climate change.
Japan’s government set a goal in December to boost its annual hydrogen demand to 3 million tonnes by 2030, from about 2 million tonnes now, and to 20 million tonnes by 2050, as part of a green growth strategy to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The aim of Thursday’s agreement is that Japan should be able to import hydrogen produced in the UAE, which may be produced from fossil fuel but whose emissions are captured and used in industry.
The two countries will also cooperate to boost hydrogen demand in the UAE.
Hydrogen, mostly extracted from natural gas or coal production, has long been used in applications ranging from rocket fuel to making fertilisers.
But as goverments seek to address climate change, the goal is to shift to emissions-free green hydrogen produced using renewable power and to broaden its use to include replacing fossil fuel energy in industrial processes and using it as transport fuel. But there are still many hurdles involving cost and infrastructure. (Reuters)
April
Russian foreign minister visits Pakistan in search of Afghan peace
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday met Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the country’s army chief for talks on the troubled peace process in Afghanistan, where both countries have long histories of involvement.
It was the first time a Russian foreign minister had visited Pakistan in nine years and comes at a sensitive time for neighbouring Afghanistan with peace talks making little headway and a deadline looming for the United States to withdraw its forces.
Khan highlighted the importance of a negotiated political settlement to the war in Afghanistan during the meeting, according to a statement from his office.
“Pakistan appreciated Russia’s efforts in promoting the Afghan peace process through the hosting of the recent meeting...in Moscow,” the statement said, referring to a recent summit on the peace process that Pakistan attended.
They also discussed economic relations, the COVID-19 pandemic and progress on a major gas pipeline project.
Lavrov also met Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, at army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, according to a statement from the military.
“During the meeting, matters of mutual interest including enhanced defence and security cooperation, regional security, particularly Afghan Peace Process were discussed,” the statement said.
In the 1980s, Pakistan and the United States were the main supporters of the Islamist fighters who battled occupying Soviet forces.
Now, Russia is concerned about Afghan instability spilling over into central Asia as the United States seeks to extricate itself from a war in Afghanistan against the Islamist Taliban.
Russia hosted an international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow last month at which the participants, including the United States, China and Pakistan, issued a statement calling on the warring Afghan sides to reach a peace deal and curb violence.
“A common concern is the situation in Afghanistan,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Lavrov’s visit to Pakistan.
“We look forward to an early finding of a constructive solution in order to end the civil war in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan through agreements on the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of the Taliban movement.”
The United States signed an agreement with the Taliban last year allowing it to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee to prevent international terrorism.
But fighting between the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the Taliban still rages.
The United States is pushing for an interim Afghan government between the two sides as a May 1 deadline approaches for it to withdraw its forces under the pact.
President Joe Biden has said that date will be hard to meet despite Taliban threats of more violence if it is not. (Reuters)
April
Scientists call for new probe into COVID-19 origins: with or without China
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. A joint China-World Health Organization (WHO) study into COVID-19 has provided no credible answers about how the pandemic began, and more rigorous investigations are required - with or without Beijing’s involvement, a group of international scientists and researchers said on Wednesday.
The joint study, released last week, said the likeliest transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, involved bats and other wildlife in China and southeast Asia. It all but ruled out the possibility it had leaked from a laboratory.
In an open letter, 24 scientists and researchers from Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan said the study was tainted by politics.
“Their starting point was, let’s have as much compromise as is required to get some minimal cooperation from China,” said Jamie Metzl, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, who drafted the letter.
The letter said the study’s conclusions were based on unpublished Chinese research, while critical records and biological samples “remain inaccessible”.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus said last week China had withheld data.
Liang Wannian, China’s senior COVID-19 expert, denied this and appeared to rule out any further joint investigations in China, saying the focus should shift to other countries.
Metzl said the world might have to “revert to Plan B” and conduct an investigation “in the most systematic way possible” without China’s involvement.
China has rejected allegations that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a research laboratory in Wuhan, the city where COVID-19 was first identified.
The joint China-WHO study said the lab leak was “extremely unlikely”, saying there was “no record” that any laboratory had kept SARS-CoV-2-related viruses. Tedros said more research was required to “reach more robust conclusions”.
Metzl said China should disclose information that would allow the lab hypothesis to be disproved.
“China has databases of what viruses were being held... there are lab notes of the work that was being done,” he said, “There are all kinds of scientists who are actually doing the work and we don’t have access to any of those resources, or any of those people.” (Reuters)
April
Philippine leader cancels address as coronavirus spreads among staff
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte cancelled a weekly televised address and meeting with his coronavirus task force on Wednesday, following dozens of COVID-19 cases among his staff and security detail, government officials said.
The Philippines is battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia, with hospitals in the capital overwhelmed amid record daily infections, while authorities face delays in delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
The country has seen new daily cases surge in recent weeks, surpassing 15,000 on April 2, most of those in the congested capital, Manila.
“The physical safety of the president remains our utmost concern,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.
There were 45 active COVID-19 cases in the Presidential Security Group (PSG), Duterte’s guard unit, most of which were personnel manning the gates of the presidential palace, PSG chief Brigadier General Jesus Durante told state television.
“We will minimise all possible exposures that may jeopardise our president’s safety,” he said.
Before the pandemic, Duterte, 76, maintained a busy schedule, at times attending multiple public events and delivering several speeches each day, often past midnight.
His public activities have since been replaced by a weekly nighttime address.
Duterte’s known ailments include back problems, migraines due to nerve damage and Barrett’s oesophagus, which affects his throat. He also suffers from Buerger’s disease which can cause blockages in the blood vessels.
Duterte has yet to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and is awaiting his doctor’s advice having expressed a preference for Sinopharm’s vaccine, which has yet to be approved locally.
Christopher Go, a sitting senator and Duterte’s closest aide, reassured the public the president was in good health.
“Nothing to worry about,” Go said. “In fact, we are together and he continues working.”
April
Global growth hopes keep shares near record high
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. World stocks took a well-earned rest near record highs on Wednesday, as an International Monetary Fund forecast of the strongest global growth since the 1970’s this year and steady bond and FX markets kept risk appetite buoyant.
While rising global COVID case numbers and geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan and between Russia and Ukraine ensured it was by no means a fairytale, markets certainly had a Goldilocks feel again.
Europe’s STOXX 600 perched just below the first record high it had hit in over a year on Tuesday. MSCI’s 50-country world index was grinding out a sixth day of gains and Wall Street futures were pointing higher too.
In the bond markets, there was little sign that the benchmark government yields that drive global borrowing costs were gearing up to shoot higher again. The dollar was sitting quietly at a two-week low.
The IMF raised its global growth forecast to 6% this year from 5.5% on Tuesday, reflecting a rapidly brightening outlook for the U.S. economy.
If realized, that would be the fastest the world economy has grown since 1976, albeit after the steepest annual downturn of the post-war era last year when the COVID pandemic brought commerce to a near stand-still at times.
“Even with high uncertainty about the path of this pandemic, a way out of this health economic crisis is increasingly visible,” IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said.
Overnight, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares had started on a firm footing, going as high as 208.46 points, a level last seen on March 18.
However, it succumbed to selling pressure and ended flat as China’s blue-chip CSI300 index dipped 1% and Hong Kong eased 0.9%.
Geopolitical tensions in the region added to the jitters. Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Wednesday it will fight to the end if China attacks, adding that the United States saw a danger that this could happen amid mounting Chinese military pressure, including aircraft carrier drills, near the island.
Other Asian markets managed to stay positive. Japan’s Nikkei closed higher; Australian shares rose 0.6% and South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.3%.
PEPP TALK
Wall Street futures pointed to a 0.1% rises for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial and Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and the Dow had hit record levels on Monday, driven by a stronger-than-expected jobs report last Friday and data showing a dramatic rebound in U.S. services industry figures. [.N]
The upcoming earnings season is expected to show S&P profit growth of 24.2% from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data, and investors will be watching to see whether corporate results further confirm recent positive economic data.
All eyes will also be on minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting when they are published later.
Ten-year and five-year Treasury yields, were down at 1.6455% and 0.874% respective in Europe from as high as 1.776% on the 10-year on March 30.
The five-year Treasury yield especially is seen as a major barometer of the faith investors have in the Fed’s message that it doesn’t expect to raise U.S. interest rates until 2024.
Europe’s bond yields also eased, with southern European debt markets stabilising after a selloff the previous session as traded braced for a 50-year bond from Italy.
The European Central Bank meanwhile will release monthly data on its conventional asset purchases and a bi-monthly breakdown of its PEPP pandemic emergency bond purchases which it has vowed to increase to keep borrowing costs low.
The dollar circled a two-week low of 92.246 against a basket of world currencies.
The euro was flat at $1.1871, sterling was weaker at $1.3795. The Japanese yen was a touch lower at 109.92.
In commodities, Brent crude futures were nudging lower at $62.67 a barrel. U.S. crude was up at $59.51 and both gold and copper were off at $1,736.4 an ounce and 8,980 a tonne respectively.
“A large share of the hopes of a U.S. growth boom supported by state aid and rapid vaccination progress has already been priced in,” Commerzbank FX and EM analyst Esther Reichelt wrote in a note to clients.
“Further and more pronounced USD gains would only be justified if this boom also caused rising inflation rates to which the Fed would have to react with higher interest rates.” (Reuters)
April
Philippines allows use of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine for senior citizens
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Philippine health authorities on Wednesday allowed the use of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine for some senior citizens after initially limiting coverage to people aged 18-59 years, as the country battles one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
The Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration said they made the decision after receiving the recommendation of the Department of Science and Technology’s vaccine expert panel.
Senior citizens can now receive CoronaVac shots provided there is stringent evaluation of the person’s health status and exposure risk, they said in a statement.
The Southeast Asian country has seen new daily cases surge, mostly in the capital Manila, and its inoculation drive is being hampered by delays in vaccine deliveries.
A total of 922,898 doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered so far to healthcare workers, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities, or just a third of the total local stocks, health ministry data showed.
Last week, the chair of a World Health Organization panel said Sinovac and another Chinese vaccine maker, Sinopharm, had presented data indicating levels of efficacy that would be compatible with those required.
The Philippine health authorities said that even though efficacy data for senior citizens from Phase III trials of the Sinovac vaccine, known as CoronaVac, was not yet sufficient “the benefits of using the vaccine for this particular group outweigh its risks”.
The Philippines has also negotiated vaccine supply deals with other manufacturers, aiming to inoculate up to 70 million people, or two thirds of its population. (Reuters)
April
European countries may have to mix COVID-19 shots amid AstraZeneca crisis
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Several European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame fresh rises in infections.
Vaccination programmes have been upset after a small number of reports that recipients of the AstraZeneca inoculation have suffered extremely rare blood clots, leading some countries worldwide to suspend its use out of caution.
A senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday there was a link between the vaccine and rare blood clots in the brain but the possible causes were still unknown.
The EMA later said in a statement that its review of the vaccine was ongoing. It will give an update on its investigation on Wednesday afternoon.
AstraZeneca has said previously its studies have found no higher risk of clots because of the vaccine, millions of doses of which have been administered worldwide.
While many countries have resumed using the shot, some have imposed age restrictions.
In many instances, this has left officials scratching their heads over what to do for people who received a first dose of AstraZeneca but are no longer eligible under the new rules.
While the numbers are small compared with the tens of millions being inoculated across the region, the decision is significant because it has not been tested in late-stage human trials.
Any divergence to the EMA’s marketing authorisation would also be considered as “off label use”, meaning it would not be approved by the regulator and leave individual countries responsible for any possible side-effects.
The EMA had no immediate comment when asked about mixing and matching vaccines and referred to the briefing later on Wednesday.
Some experts say that, because all of the vaccines target the same outer “spike” protein of the virus, they could work together to train the body to fight off the virus. There is no evidence it will be as effective.
Germany was the first European country to recommend on April 1 that people under 60 who have had a first AstraZeneca shot should receive a different product for their second dose.
Norway will decide whether to resume using AstraZeneca’s vaccine or rely on alternatives by April 15.
“The outcome is either you get one vaccine, the AstraZeneca vaccine ... or you get a booster vaccine with other types of vaccines,” Sara Viksmoen Watle, a senior physician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, told Reuters.
Norwegian authorities are also waiting for the results of a British trial launched in February to explore mixing doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. The timing of the data is not known.
Britain said late last year it would allow people to be given shots of different COVID-19 vaccines on rare occasions, but it has not yet had to do so.
Finland, which resumed using the AstraZeneca vaccine from March 29, but will only give it to people aged 65 and over, said it would wait for the EMA’s conclusions before making a recommendation. It will have to start giving second doses by mid-April.
In France, where the vaccine can now only be used for those aged 55 or older, the issue affects hundreds of thousands of people.
A top health advisory body in charge of defining the use of vaccines, the Haute Autorité de la Santé (HAS), is also contemplating deploying a messengerRNA (mRNA) vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna as a second dose, according to two sources aware of the organisation’s plans.
A formal decision has not been yet taken, however, as experts await more data, notably from Britain, one of the sources added. France has until early May, which marks 12 weeks after the first doses were administered.
The HAS had no comment.
Back in February, it said there was no data to assess interchangeability of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and therefore advised that those who had already received a first dose should not get a different shot when vaccinated for the second time.
“We are left guessing and that makes me and other colleagues feel very uncomfortable,” said Charlotte Senechal, a 52-year-old hospital nurse working in Strasbourg, eastern France. (Reuters)
April
A third of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders: study
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. One in three COVID-19 survivors in a study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months, suggesting the pandemic could lead to a wave of mental and neurological problems, scientists said on Tuesday.
Researchers who conducted the analysis said it was not clear how the virus was linked to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, but that these were the most common diagnoses among the 14 disorders they looked at.
Post-COVID cases of stroke, dementia and other neurological disorders were rarer, the researchers said, but were still significant, especially in those who had severe COVID-19.
“Although the individual risks for most disorders are small, the effect across the whole population may be substantial,” said Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry at Oxford University who co-led the work.
Max Taquet, also an Oxford psychiatrist who worked with Harrison, noted that the study was not able to examine the biological or psychological mechanisms involved, but said urgent research is needed to identify these “with a view to preventing or treating them”.
Health experts are increasingly concerned by evidence of higher risks of brain and mental health disorders among COVID-19 survivors. A previous study by the same researchers found last year that 20% of COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within three months.
The new findings, published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, analysed health records of 236,379 COVID-19 patients, mostly from the United States, and found 34% had been diagnosed with neurological or psychiatric illnesses within six months.
The disorders were significantly more common in COVID-19 patients than in comparison groups of people who recovered from flu or other respiratory infections over the same time period, the scientists said, suggesting COVID-19 had a specific impact.
Anxiety, at 17%, and mood disorders, at 14%, were the most common, and did not appear to be related to how mild or severe the patient’s COVID-19 infection had been.
Among those who had been admitted to intensive care with severe COVID-19 however, 7% had a stroke within six months, and almost 2% were diagnosed with dementia.
Independent experts said the findings were worrying.
“This is a very important paper. It confirms beyond any reasonable doubt that COVID-19 affects both brain and mind in equal measure,” said Simon Wessely, chair of psychiatry at King’s College London.
“The impact COVID-19 is having on individuals’ mental health can be severe,” said Lea Milligan, chief executive of the MQ Mental Health research charity. “This is contributing to the already rising levels of mental illness and requires further, urgent research.” (Reuters)
April
Digitizing global value chains improves risk management
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Director of the Policy Support Unit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Dr. Denis Hew views that the digitization of global value chains (GVCs) can improve risk management and reduce logistical bottlenecks.
"Although the trend toward digitalization predates the pandemic, digital solutions have now become a necessity rather than an option for many firms," Dr Denis Hew stated during the webinar, Global Value Chains in the Post-Pandemic “New Normal", Wednesday.
However, Hew affirmed that boosting the resilience of these value chains necessitates reconsidering policies, including those on data security and human capital management.
The pandemic has expedited digitalization for both businesses and customers, with technology-driven production and distribution activities as well as digital services now in place, according to Hew.
With users better acclimatizing themselves to new-fangled technologies, the “flight to digital” has presented a viable opportunity to the ASEAN+3 region to upgrade and bolster its role in GVCs.
The region is in an inimitable position to not only support greater openness but also increase its competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The comprehensive inculcation of novel technologies will mandate steady flow of investment in both hard and soft infrastructures to derive optimal benefits. (Antaranews)