(HBO) - The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is planning to start vaccine production in other countries as it struggles to meet supply commitments, its chief executive officer told The Times.
A worker from the Serum Institute of India pictured with vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"There's going to be an announcement in the next few days," Adar Poonawalla was quoted as saying by the newspaper in an interview published on Friday.
Poonawalla said last week that the Serum Institute would be able to raise its monthly output to 100 million doses by July, later than a previous timeline of end-May. Several states in India have run out of vaccines against COVID-19.
He hoped to increase the Serum Institute's production capacity from 2.5 billion to 3 billion doses a year within six months, the Times reported, adding that he flew to London before Britain banned travellers from India eight days ago.
Coronavirus cases and deaths have surged in India as the world's second-most populous country has reported more than 300,000 new infections daily for nine consecutive days, hitting another global record of 386,452 on Friday.
The nation's coronavirus cases may peak between May 3-5, according to scientists advising the government.
India's first wave of the pandemic peaked in mid-September with 97,894 cases. The country is now reporting more than three times as many infections daily, taking the total number of cases to 18.8 million with 208,000 deaths.
The surge has led to a public health crisis and forced the government to seek oxygen, medicines and other essentials from abroad.
Source: NDO
All-level public and private educational institutions in Cambodia will be closed from April 20 to May 18 for the 32nd SEA Games and the 12th ASEAN Para Games.
The 30th ASEAN-EU joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting has been convened in Jakarta, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to strengthening ASEAN-EU cooperation and to uphold ASEAN centrality based on shared relevant fundamental principles of their respective Indo-Pacific approaches.
Vietnamese nationals account for 25.4% of the total 1.82 million foreign workers who were working in Japan as of the end of October last year, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).
After a stronger-than-expected recovery in 2022, this year could see international tourist arrivals return to pre-pandemic levels in Europe and the Middle East. However, tourists are nonetheless expected to increasingly seek value for money and travel closer to home in response to the challenging economic climate.
Myanmar extended its COVID-19 preventive measures until Feb. 28, the state-run media citing the Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday.
The Lao Journalists Association’s website laophattananews.com has recently published an article praising Vietnam’s experiences for good economic growth in the context of global downturn.
