The World Health Organisation on Friday warned the Asia-Pacific countries to brace for the Omicron variant, asking them to take immediate measures to boost health infrastructure and pace up the vaccination drive.

After Europe and America, Omicron entered Asia this week after India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea reported Covid cases of the new variant.

Many countries have tightened travel restrictions in a bid to prevent the further spread of the virus, but the WHO’s warning to the Asia-Pacific, a region of about 650 million people, stressed that border controls could only buy them time.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/live-omicron-in-india-updates-two-cases-found-in-karnataka-433212">Also Read:&nbsp;Omicron Live update: At least 17 suspected Omicron cases after Oslo party</a>

“People should not only rely on border measures. What is most important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far, the information available suggests we don't have to change our approach," Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s western Pacific director, told a media briefing.

Kasai urged countries to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and stick to preventive measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australia-reports-omicron-cases-in-school-433807">Australia reports Omicron cases in school</a>

Vaccination rates vary from country to country in the Asia-Pacific but there are worrying gaps. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and once Asia's COVID-19 epicentre, has fully inoculated only about 35 per cent of its population of 270 million people, reports Reuters.

Australia's chief medical officer said Omicron was likely to become the dominant variant globally within months, but at this stage, there was no evidence it was any more dangerous than Delta which swept the world earlier this year.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/omicron-scare-new-york-records-5-cases-bringing-number-of-new-variant-cases-in-us-to-eight-433665">Also Read:&nbsp;New York records 5 cases, bringing number of new variant cases in US to eight</a>

"I suspect within the (next few) months, Omicron will be the new virus in the world," Paul Kelly, the top medical advisor to the Australian government, told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)

The World Health Organisation on Friday warned the Asia-Pacific countries to brace for the Omicron variant, asking them to take immediate measures to boost health infrastructure and pace up the vaccination drive.

The World Health Organisation on Friday warned the Asia-Pacific countries to brace for the Omicron variant, asking them to take immediate measures to boost health infrastructure and pace up the vaccination drive. After Europe and America, Omicron entered Asia this week after India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea reported Covid cases of the new variant. Many countries have tightened travel restrictions in a bid to prevent the further spread of the virus, but the WHO’s warning to the Asia-Pacific, a region of about 650 million people, stressed that border controls could only buy them time. Also Read: Omicron Live update: At least 17 suspected Omicron cases after Oslo party “People should not only rely on border measures. What is most important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far, the information available suggests we don't have to change our approach," Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s western Pacific director, told a media briefing. Kasai urged countries to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and stick to preventive measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing. Also read | Australia reports Omicron cases in school Vaccination rates vary from country to country in the Asia-Pacific but there are worrying gaps. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and once Asia's COVID-19 epicentre, has fully inoculated only about 35 per cent of its population of 270 million people, reports Reuters. Australia's chief medical officer said Omicron was likely to become the dominant variant globally within months, but at this stage, there was no evidence it was any more dangerous than Delta which swept the world earlier this year. Also Read: New York records 5 cases, bringing number of new variant cases in US to eight "I suspect within the (next few) months, Omicron will be the new virus in the world," Paul Kelly, the top medical advisor to the Australian government, told reporters. (With inputs from agencies)

WHO warns Asia-Pacific to brace for Omicron, urges countries to speed up vaccination

At first glance, it looked just like an official New York City public service announcement that listed the Top 10 reasons people should get vaccinated against COVID-19.

But a closer reading revealed that the poster, seen at a B43 bus stop in the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, displayed 10 reasons not to get vaccinated. Reason No. 1: “It could kill you.”

The false and blatantly misleading anti-vaccination ad caused an uproar on social media Thursday at a time when city health officials are pushing hard to boost the vaccination rate as a new threat from the omicron variant looms. About 69% of city residents of all ages have been fully vaccinated.

The poster imitated an official vaccination ad released by the city — it used the same font, layout and even the same shade of robin’s egg blue — but conveyed the opposite message.

It directed people to go to Macabim.org, website of a group that described itself as “a dedicated group of doctors, scientists, and activists” who oppose vaccination.

The group — which promotes the use of the drugs hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to treat COVID-19, even though they are not known to treat the disease and have not been federally approved for that purpose — also listed among its members the names of several doctors who have spread misinformation about vaccines.

Transit officials said Thursday that the ad had not been approved by the city or sold by the company that installs ads at its bus stops, JCDecaux North America.

Seth Stein, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Transportation, wrote on Twitter that the anti-vaccination ad was being removed.

“Most likely someone popped open the glass,” he wrote. “Investigation ongoing. Disinformation has no place in our city, or our street furniture.”

JCDecaux North America also said on Twitter it had no knowledge of the anti-vaccination ad, calling it "unwelcome and unauthorized copy.”

At the bottom-right corner of the ad was a phone number purporting to belong to a company called LG Media, which says on its Instagram account that it handles advertising on bus shelters in the Crown Heights and Borough Park sections of Brooklyn.

The company, which also had a smaller, unrelated ad on the bus shelter with a different phone number, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Joseph Hodge, a spokesperson for JCDecaux, said in an email that LG Media was an agency that had purchased advertising space from the company. He added that JCDecaux was investigating the matter.

Hodge also reiterated that the anti-vaccination poster violated “the advertising guidelines” for the bus shelter space, although he did not elaborate on those guidelines or provide details of the company’s review process.

The misleading ad appeared on a busy avenue in Crown Heights lined with businesses that cater to the neighborhood’s large Orthodox Jewish population, including kosher restaurants, groceries and shops selling religious objects.

It was not clear how long it was displayed at the bus shelter, but by 1:15 p.m. Thursday, a maintenance worker who declined to give his name had replaced it with a city-approved poster that urged people to prepare for emergencies.

The bus stop is in the 11213 ZIP code in East Crown Heights, which has a higher rate of COVID cases and deaths than the city overall, according to city health data.

The ZIP code also has one of the lower vaccination rates in the city, with 59.9% of residents having received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared to 69.8% of Brooklyn residents and 77.1% of all New York City residents.

Throughout the summer, as city officials and many Orthodox Jewish leaders advised vaccination, unsubstantiated rumors about the coronavirus’s vaccine’s potential adverse effects spread through some ultra-Orthodox circles.

During the early stages of the pandemic, misinformation campaigns in these communities fueled a resistance to virus-related restrictions.

New York City health officials, worried that low vaccination rates could fuel a resurgence of the virus in some neighborhoods, have spent millions of dollars trying to combat vaccine skepticism.

The city’s health department has partnered with community-based organizations to educate community members, leading to ads like the one that the anti-vaccination poster was meant to mimic.

The poster encouraging vaccination was put up in partnership with the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association, or JOWMA, a group that has been working to combat misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine circulating in Orthodox circles.

Sarah Becker, chair of JOWMA’s COVID-19 task force, said that she was not familiar with Macabim and did not know who had funded the anti-vaccination poster. But she linked it to broader efforts to target the ultra-Orthodox community with anti-vaccine messaging.

“The anti-vaccine movement is a well-funded movement that specifically targets specific groups,” she said. “And among the groups they target are Orthodox Jews.”

Still, Becker found a silver lining in the anti-vaccination poster’s imitation of JOWMA’s pro-vaccination public service announcement.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” she said. “Like, hey, we’re really out there if people are using our ads to flip this. We must be really reaching people.”

At first glance, it looked just like an official New York City public service announcement that listed the Top 10 reasons people should get vaccinated against COVID-19.

At first glance, it looked just like an official New York City public service announcement that listed the Top 10 reasons people should get vaccinated against COVID-19. But a closer reading revealed that the poster, seen at a B43 bus stop in the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, displayed 10 reasons not to get vaccinated. Reason No. 1: “It could kill you.” The false and blatantly misleading anti-vaccination ad caused an uproar on social media Thursday at a time when city health officials are pushing hard to boost the vaccination rate as a new threat from the omicron variant looms. About 69% of city residents of all ages have been fully vaccinated. The poster imitated an official vaccination ad released by the city — it used the same font, layout and even the same shade of robin’s egg blue — but conveyed the opposite message. It directed people to go to Macabim.org, website of a group that described itself as “a dedicated group of doctors, scientists, and activists” who oppose vaccination. The group — which promotes the use of the drugs hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to treat COVID-19, even though they are not known to treat the disease and have not been federally approved for that purpose — also listed among its members the names of several doctors who have spread misinformation about vaccines. Transit officials said Thursday that the ad had not been approved by the city or sold by the company that installs ads at its bus stops, JCDecaux North America. Seth Stein, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Transportation, wrote on Twitter that the anti-vaccination ad was being removed. “Most likely someone popped open the glass,” he wrote. “Investigation ongoing. Disinformation has no place in our city, or our street furniture.” JCDecaux North America also said on Twitter it had no knowledge of the anti-vaccination ad, calling it "unwelcome and unauthorized copy.” At the bottom-right corner of the ad was a phone number purporting to belong to a company called LG Media, which says on its Instagram account that it handles advertising on bus shelters in the Crown Heights and Borough Park sections of Brooklyn. The company, which also had a smaller, unrelated ad on the bus shelter with a different phone number, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Joseph Hodge, a spokesperson for JCDecaux, said in an email that LG Media was an agency that had purchased advertising space from the company. He added that JCDecaux was investigating the matter. Hodge also reiterated that the anti-vaccination poster violated “the advertising guidelines” for the bus shelter space, although he did not elaborate on those guidelines or provide details of the company’s review process. The misleading ad appeared on a busy avenue in Crown Heights lined with businesses that cater to the neighborhood’s large Orthodox Jewish population, including kosher restaurants, groceries and shops selling religious objects. It was not clear how long it was displayed at the bus shelter, but by 1:15 p.m. Thursday, a maintenance worker who declined to give his name had replaced it with a city-approved poster that urged people to prepare for emergencies. The bus stop is in the 11213 ZIP code in East Crown Heights, which has a higher rate of COVID cases and deaths than the city overall, according to city health data. The ZIP code also has one of the lower vaccination rates in the city, with 59.9% of residents having received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared to 69.8% of Brooklyn residents and 77.1% of all New York City residents. Throughout the summer, as city officials and many Orthodox Jewish leaders advised vaccination, unsubstantiated rumors about the coronavirus’s vaccine’s potential adverse effects spread through some ultra-Orthodox circles. During the early stages of the pandemic, misinformation campaigns in these communities fueled a resistance to virus-related restrictions. New York City health officials, worried that low vaccination rates could fuel a resurgence of the virus in some neighborhoods, have spent millions of dollars trying to combat vaccine skepticism. The city’s health department has partnered with community-based organizations to educate community members, leading to ads like the one that the anti-vaccination poster was meant to mimic. The poster encouraging vaccination was put up in partnership with the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association, or JOWMA, a group that has been working to combat misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine circulating in Orthodox circles. Sarah Becker, chair of JOWMA’s COVID-19 task force, said that she was not familiar with Macabim and did not know who had funded the anti-vaccination poster. But she linked it to broader efforts to target the ultra-Orthodox community with anti-vaccine messaging. “The anti-vaccine movement is a well-funded movement that specifically targets specific groups,” she said. “And among the groups they target are Orthodox Jews.” Still, Becker found a silver lining in the anti-vaccination poster’s imitation of JOWMA’s pro-vaccination public service announcement. “It was a pleasant surprise,” she said. “Like, hey, we’re really out there if people are using our ads to flip this. We must be really reaching people.”

Anti-vaccination ad mysteriously appears at NYC bus stop

Tennis ace Novak Djokovic will reportedly skip the Australian Open over the tournament's vaccine mandate. Why are so many professional athletes refusing the jab? Are they paranoid or misled? Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas: Novak Djokovic to skip Australian Open?

India is witnessing a decrease in the new COVID-19 cases, the smallest rise in one-and-a-half years despite huge festival gatherings. India reported 7,579 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the lowest in 543 days.

No scientific evidence to support the need of booster shot

In a bid to push to push the unvaccinated to get inoculated, Kenya has now imposed vaccination mandate as well barring all those who are yet to get the doze.

Kenya imposes restrictions on unvaccinated people

With less than two months to go before Christmas, Germany is preparing for tighter restrictions and stricter vaccine rules as the country faces a steep rise in corona infections.

On Thursday (November 18) Germany's parliament voted in favour of a new Infection Protection Act, that will look for approval at the federal state level on Friday.

Among rules being touted are that Germany should demand proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 for all indoor leisure activities, and require vaccinated people to also present a negative test for risky environments.

Signs were already popping up in Berlin restaurants and cafes introducing the so-called 2G rule where it is no longer enough to bring a negative test.

"When we were given the option of 2G or 3G (3G is the option vaccinated, recovered or tested) we pretty quickly went for the 2G option because it gives everyone a lot more protection," said cafe manager Tuelin Duman.

"The rules that we have introduced match what our customers feel and that's a good thing. So we aren't having to face disappointed faces at the door of people who aren't being allowed in, that hasn't hardly happened with any of our regulars since we have the new rule," she added.

Similar rules have been put in place in Austrian hotspots where police have also reported a general acceptance of the rule.

Germany recorded 32,048 new infections at the beginning of the week, a rise of 47% compared to a week ago, and another 265 deaths, bringing Germany's total during the pandemic to 97,980.

Several German regions, including the capital Berlin, have already introduced the 2G rule, in effect excluding non-vaccinated people from places such as cinemas, hairdressers, restaurants and fitness studios.

It is not clear who should be responsible for policing the new rules. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller called on city officials to check vaccine passports rather than issue parking tickets.

On Thursday Germany's vaccine advisory committee recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all people aged over 18 as the number of coronavirus infections hits a new record in Europe's largest economy.

The committee, known as STIKO, said it also recommends booster shots to be administered with an mRNA vaccine and that a booster should be given six months after the last vaccine dose.

A shortening of the vaccination interval to five months can be considered in individual cases or if there is enough capacity, it added.

Vaccine centres, which had been winding down were experiencing long queues as the coming winter and the fear of being locked out of leisure activities lured people in.

The new wave of infections is challenging a government in transition, with three parties negotiating to form the next cabinet after September's federal election.

Germany's vaccination rate, at 68%, is among the lowest in western Europe.

With less than two months to go before Christmas, Germany is preparing for tighter restrictions and stricter vaccine rules as the country faces a steep rise in corona infections.

With less than two months to go before Christmas, Germany is preparing for tighter restrictions and stricter vaccine rules as the country faces a steep rise in corona infections. On Thursday (November 18) Germany's parliament voted in favour of a new Infection Protection Act, that will look for approval at the federal state level on Friday. Among rules being touted are that Germany should demand proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 for all indoor leisure activities, and require vaccinated people to also present a negative test for risky environments. Signs were already popping up in Berlin restaurants and cafes introducing the so-called 2G rule where it is no longer enough to bring a negative test. "When we were given the option of 2G or 3G (3G is the option vaccinated, recovered or tested) we pretty quickly went for the 2G option because it gives everyone a lot more protection," said cafe manager Tuelin Duman. "The rules that we have introduced match what our customers feel and that's a good thing. So we aren't having to face disappointed faces at the door of people who aren't being allowed in, that hasn't hardly happened with any of our regulars since we have the new rule," she added. Similar rules have been put in place in Austrian hotspots where police have also reported a general acceptance of the rule. Germany recorded 32,048 new infections at the beginning of the week, a rise of 47% compared to a week ago, and another 265 deaths, bringing Germany's total during the pandemic to 97,980. Several German regions, including the capital Berlin, have already introduced the 2G rule, in effect excluding non-vaccinated people from places such as cinemas, hairdressers, restaurants and fitness studios. It is not clear who should be responsible for policing the new rules. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller called on city officials to check vaccine passports rather than issue parking tickets. On Thursday Germany's vaccine advisory committee recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all people aged over 18 as the number of coronavirus infections hits a new record in Europe's largest economy. The committee, known as STIKO, said it also recommends booster shots to be administered with an mRNA vaccine and that a booster should be given six months after the last vaccine dose. A shortening of the vaccination interval to five months can be considered in individual cases or if there is enough capacity, it added. Vaccine centres, which had been winding down were experiencing long queues as the coming winter and the fear of being locked out of leisure activities lured people in. The new wave of infections is challenging a government in transition, with three parties negotiating to form the next cabinet after September's federal election. Germany's vaccination rate, at 68%, is among the lowest in western Europe.

Germany gets tough on unvaccinated as new rules come into force

Different establishments around the world have been giving different incentives to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. These attempts are being made to ensure several lives can be saved in the fight against coronavirus. &nbsp;

In a unique initiative, a brothel in Austria has been offering several incentives, such as granting free entry and private sessions, to people, who would take a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the facility.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-8-big-cats-test-positive-for-covid-19-at-st-louis-zoo-428910" hreflang="en">US: 8 big cats test positive for COVID-19 at St. Louis Zoo</a>

FunPalast, a brothel in Vienna, "offers clients a 30-minute session in the sexual 'sauna club' with the 'lady of their choice' if they get the vaccine at the on-site clinic," said a Daily Mail report. &nbsp;

The initiative seems to be an attempt to not just boost revenue in the business after the COVID-19 pandemic affected its clientele totals, but also increase vaccination rates across the country. &nbsp;The project has begun this month. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/europe-becoming-covid-19s-epicentre-yet-again-some-countries-planning-lockdown-booster-shots-428986" hreflang="en">Europe becoming COVID-19’s epicentre yet again, some countries planning lockdown, booster shots</a>

Around 67% of Austria's population is partially or fully vaccinated, said the recent data provided by Our World in Data. &nbsp;

The effort started as a clever "marketing idea," but has become an "absolutely serious" operation, said FunPalast's chief executive Christoph Lielacher in an interview with NBC News. &nbsp; &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Different establishments around the world have been giving different incentives to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. These attempts are being made to ensure several lives can be saved in the fight against coronavirus.

Different establishments around the world have been giving different incentives to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. These attempts are being made to ensure several lives can be saved in the fight against coronavirus. In a unique initiative, a brothel in Austria has been offering several incentives, such as granting free entry and private sessions, to people, who would take a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the facility. Also Read: US: 8 big cats test positive for COVID-19 at St. Louis Zoo FunPalast, a brothel in Vienna, "offers clients a 30-minute session in the sexual 'sauna club' with the 'lady of their choice' if they get the vaccine at the on-site clinic," said a Daily Mail report. The initiative seems to be an attempt to not just boost revenue in the business after the COVID-19 pandemic affected its clientele totals, but also increase vaccination rates across the country. The project has begun this month. Also Read: Europe becoming COVID-19’s epicentre yet again, some countries planning lockdown, booster shots Around 67% of Austria's population is partially or fully vaccinated, said the recent data provided by Our World in Data. The effort started as a clever "marketing idea," but has become an "absolutely serious" operation, said FunPalast's chief executive Christoph Lielacher in an interview with NBC News. (With inputs from agencies)

Brothel offers free entry, private sessions to people taking Covid shot on-site in Austria

There are concerns about use of the vaccine in children as young as two. India's Covaxin is under trail for children.

Covaxin under trail for Children

Around 12,000 members of US Air Force have defied the US Department of Defence's August order on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, making them liable to be dismissed&nbsp;from their services, the Washington Post has reported.

The US defence ministry had asked the troops to be fully vaccinated by Tuesday.&nbsp;

Those who fail to meet the order are likely to be dismissed or be charged by the military justice system, but the exact sanctions are unknown yet, according to Newsweek.

US Air Force has become the first military branch to face mass refusal to vaccinate since it became mandatory two months ago.

As of early October, roughly 60,000 members of the Air Force were unwilling to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, 97 per cent of all US servicemen have as of now received at least one shot, and 87 per cent have been fully vaccinated, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/lapd-officials-file-lawsuit-against-compulsory-covid-vaccination-413004">LAPD officials file lawsuit against compulsory Covid vaccination</a>

As of the last month, 94 per cent of the Air Force have been vaccinated, but the rate has slowed down in recent weeks.

On 25 August, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin ordered all military personnel to vaccinate against COVID-19 with at least one dose by November 2, excluding members of the National Guard and Reserve members who are required to provide vaccination certificates by December 2.

An exception was made only for those who go on leave with subsequent release to the reserve at the end of their service, and will no longer be physically present at their workplace in the Ministry of Defence.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/disney-makes-vaccination-mandatory-for-on-site-us-employees-401912">Disney makes vaccination mandatory for on-site US employees</a>

Mandatory vaccination, introduced in some companies and states across the US, has faced resistance, as some employees have refused to get the vaccine.

As far as 19 states in the US have filed legal cases against President Joe Biden’s mandatory vaccination order.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hungary-makes-covid-19-jabs-mandatory-for-health-workers-398455">Hungary makes COVID-19 jabs mandatory for health workers</a>

On October 29, three separate legal cases were filed by 18 states to stop President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for federal contractors.

Furthermore, Texas filed the case individually to prevent the Biden administration vaccination rule for federal contractors, according to AP.

Florida had filed the case on Thursday, which brought the total number of states opposing the Biden mandatory COVID-19&nbsp;vaccine rule, making it the 19th state to do so.

(With inputs from agencies)

Around 12,000 members of US Air Force have defied the US Department of Defence's August order on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, making them liable to be dismissed from their services, the Washington Post has reported.

Around 12,000 members of US Air Force have defied the US Department of Defence's August order on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, making them liable to be dismissed from their services, the Washington Post has reported. The US defence ministry had asked the troops to be fully vaccinated by Tuesday. Those who fail to meet the order are likely to be dismissed or be charged by the military justice system, but the exact sanctions are unknown yet, according to Newsweek. US Air Force has become the first military branch to face mass refusal to vaccinate since it became mandatory two months ago. As of early October, roughly 60,000 members of the Air Force were unwilling to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, 97 per cent of all US servicemen have as of now received at least one shot, and 87 per cent have been fully vaccinated, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Also read | LAPD officials file lawsuit against compulsory Covid vaccination As of the last month, 94 per cent of the Air Force have been vaccinated, but the rate has slowed down in recent weeks. On 25 August, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin ordered all military personnel to vaccinate against COVID-19 with at least one dose by November 2, excluding members of the National Guard and Reserve members who are required to provide vaccination certificates by December 2. An exception was made only for those who go on leave with subsequent release to the reserve at the end of their service, and will no longer be physically present at their workplace in the Ministry of Defence. Also read | Disney makes vaccination mandatory for on-site US employees Mandatory vaccination, introduced in some companies and states across the US, has faced resistance, as some employees have refused to get the vaccine. As far as 19 states in the US have filed legal cases against President Joe Biden’s mandatory vaccination order. Also read | Hungary makes COVID-19 jabs mandatory for health workers On October 29, three separate legal cases were filed by 18 states to stop President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for federal contractors. Furthermore, Texas filed the case individually to prevent the Biden administration vaccination rule for federal contractors, according to AP. Florida had filed the case on Thursday, which brought the total number of states opposing the Biden mandatory COVID-19 vaccine rule, making it the 19th state to do so. (With inputs from agencies)

12,000 US Air Force members defy mandatory vaccination order

70-year-old Shekhar Bhandari has been waiting patiently for months for the Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, to get approval from the World Health Organization.

His parents, aged 91and 87, have been stuck in the US. Shekhar and his family—all based in Delhi— had gone to California via Dubai early this year to visit their relatives.

Later in July, Shekhar and his daughter came back to New Delhi, but he left his parents back in the US, as it was the time when the Delta variant was raging in India.

Now that the pandemic has ebbed considerably in India, Shekhar wants to travel to US again to get his parents back. However, he has been unable to do so.

The reason—US allows entry for only those non-citizens who have been jabbed with vaccines approved by it or the WHO.

Watch: Covaxin delay: Protocol or prejudice?

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And the only Indian made vaccine that has been approved by the WHO is ‘Covishield’— the Indian variant of AstraZeneca’s jab.

Like Shekhar, there are millions of Indians who took Covaxin and have been unable to travel as the vaccine is still not recognised in many foreign nations, including the US and the EU.

His daughter, Shraddha Bhandari, 37, says almost everyone in her family have taken the Covaxin jab.

“My father took Covaxin earlier this year when the government started inoculation drive for the senior citizens. We are a family of doctors. We sought Covaxin because it was based on tested methods and also because it was made by one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in India (Bharat Biotech) which made the polio vaccine,” Shraddha told WION.

Even as she tries to figure out how to bring their grandparents back, Shraddha says the travel visas of her grandparents are about to expire. The US travel visas expire within 6 months.

“We have been waiting since September this year for the WHO to approve Covaxin. My father has been trying hard to get my grandparents back to India. Now, we don’t know what to do. My grandparents’ visas are also about to expire,” she said.

The wait for the approval for Shekhar as well as tens of thousands of other Indians stuck at home after taking Covaxin will be longer than expected. On Wednesday, the WHO sought “additional clarifications” from the vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech regarding its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' for a final "risk-benefit assessment" before recommending the vaccine for emergency use.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/delayed-again-who-seeks-more-clarifications-on-made-in-india-covid-shot-covaxin-424319">Delayed again: WHO seeks more 'clarifications' on made-in-India Covid shot Covaxin</a>

The WHO said it expects to receive these clarifications from Bharat Biotech by the end of this week, i.e. by November 3.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.

The WHO has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson &amp; Johnson-Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/vaccinated-but-stuck-indians-await-who-nod-for-homegrown-shot-to-travel-abroad-424093">Vaccinated but stuck: Indians await WHO nod for homegrown shot to travel abroad</a>

70-year-old Shekhar Bhandari has been waiting patiently for months for the Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, to get approval from the World Health Organization.

70-year-old Shekhar Bhandari has been waiting patiently for months for the Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, to get approval from the World Health Organization. His parents, aged 91and 87, have been stuck in the US. Shekhar and his family—all based in Delhi— had gone to California via Dubai early this year to visit their relatives. Later in July, Shekhar and his daughter came back to New Delhi, but he left his parents back in the US, as it was the time when the Delta variant was raging in India. Now that the pandemic has ebbed considerably in India, Shekhar wants to travel to US again to get his parents back. However, he has been unable to do so. The reason—US allows entry for only those non-citizens who have been jabbed with vaccines approved by it or the WHO. Watch: Covaxin delay: Protocol or prejudice? × And the only Indian made vaccine that has been approved by the WHO is ‘Covishield’— the Indian variant of AstraZeneca’s jab. Like Shekhar, there are millions of Indians who took Covaxin and have been unable to travel as the vaccine is still not recognised in many foreign nations, including the US and the EU. His daughter, Shraddha Bhandari, 37, says almost everyone in her family have taken the Covaxin jab. “My father took Covaxin earlier this year when the government started inoculation drive for the senior citizens. We are a family of doctors. We sought Covaxin because it was based on tested methods and also because it was made by one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in India (Bharat Biotech) which made the polio vaccine,” Shraddha told WION. Even as she tries to figure out how to bring their grandparents back, Shraddha says the travel visas of her grandparents are about to expire. The US travel visas expire within 6 months. “We have been waiting since September this year for the WHO to approve Covaxin. My father has been trying hard to get my grandparents back to India. Now, we don’t know what to do. My grandparents’ visas are also about to expire,” she said. The wait for the approval for Shekhar as well as tens of thousands of other Indians stuck at home after taking Covaxin will be longer than expected. On Wednesday, the WHO sought “additional clarifications” from the vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech regarding its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' for a final "risk-benefit assessment" before recommending the vaccine for emergency use. Also read: Delayed again: WHO seeks more 'clarifications' on made-in-India Covid shot Covaxin The WHO said it expects to receive these clarifications from Bharat Biotech by the end of this week, i.e. by November 3. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India. The WHO has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use. Also read: Vaccinated but stuck: Indians await WHO nod for homegrown shot to travel abroad

As WHO delays approval for Covaxin jab, every minute is an eternity for this Indian family

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized using "mix and match" strategy for people who require a booster shot of a Covid vaccine. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines get approval in the United States.

US allows mix and match booster strategy

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 80,000 to 180,000&nbsp;healthcare&nbsp;workers may have died due to coronavirus between January 2020 and May 2021.

WHO chief Tedros called on countries to improve monitoring and reporting of infections and deaths among healthcare workers while highlighting the fact that in Africa&nbsp;less than one in ten health workers have been fully vaccinated.

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"High- and upper-middle income countries have now administered almost half as many booster shots as the total number of vaccines administered in low-income countries"-<a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTedros</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VaccinEquity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VaccinEquity</a> <a href="https://t.co/IjWLfvHMEo">https://t.co/IjWLfvHMEo</a>
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WHO informed that according to data accessed from 119 countries, two in five health care workers globally are fully vaccinated, however, it added that the "average masks" huge differences across regions and economic groupings.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fda-approves-mix-and-match-strategy-for-all-covid-19-vaccines-approved-in-us-422505">Also Read |&nbsp;FDA approves 'mix and match' strategy for all COVID-19 vaccines approved in US</a>

The WHO chief urged countries to "protect and support" healthcare workers and ensure safe working conditions for them including regular payment of salaries and pay equity.

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"More than 10 months since the first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> vaccines were approved, the fact that millions of health workers still haven’t been vaccinated is an indictment on the countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines"-<a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTedros</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VaccinEquity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VaccinEquity</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZVe4NiqW6K">pic.twitter.com/ZVe4NiqW6K</a>
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The UN health body urged countries to "prioritise" coronavirus vaccines for healthcare workers.

"More than ten months since the first vaccines were approved, the fact that millions of health workers still haven’t been vaccinated is an indictment on the countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines," Tedros said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/two-doses-of-covishield-and-pfizer-vaccine-provide-90-safety-from-covid-study-422725">Also Read |&nbsp;Two doses of Covishield and Pfizer vaccine provide 90% safety from Covid: Study</a>

Amid the large scale vaccination drive worldwide, Tedros highlighted the "harsh reality of vaccine inequity", saying that, "high- and upper-middle income countries have now administered almost half as many booster shots as the total number of vaccines administered in low-income countries."

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The countries that have already reached the 40% target – which includes all the <a href="https://twitter.com/g20org?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@g20org</a> countries – must give their spot in the vaccine delivery queue to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVAX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVAX</a> and AVAT"-<a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTedros</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VaccinEquity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VaccinEquity</a> <a href="https://t.co/20Ugdre4ph">https://t.co/20Ugdre4ph</a>
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1451190105188696071?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Tedros said although 20 countries have pledged to donate over 1.2 billion vaccines to Covax, however, just 150 million doses&nbsp;have been delivered so far with "no timeline".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-pandemic-will-easily-drag-on-deep-into-2022-warns-who-422531">Also Read:&nbsp;Covid pandemic will easily drag on deep into 2022, warns WHO</a>

"We cannot have equity without transparency," Tedros said as he asked manufacturers to "prioritise" contracts with Covax&nbsp;while asking for intellectual property rights waiver

"We are not asking for charity, we are calling for a commonsense investment in the global recovery," he said.

(With inputs from Agencies)

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 80,000 to 180,000 healthcare workers may have died due to coronavirus between January 2020 and May 2021. WHO chief Tedros called on countries to improve monitoring and reporting of infections and deaths among healthcare workers while highlighting the fact that in Africa less than one in ten health workers have been fully vaccinated.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 80,000 to 180,000 healthcare workers may have died due to coronavirus between January 2020 and May 2021. WHO chief Tedros called on countries to improve monitoring and reporting of infections and deaths among healthcare workers while highlighting the fact that in Africa less than one in ten health workers have been fully vaccinated. "High- and upper-middle income countries have now administered almost half as many booster shots as the total number of vaccines administered in low-income countries"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity https://t.co/IjWLfvHMEo — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 21, 2021 × WHO informed that according to data accessed from 119 countries, two in five health care workers globally are fully vaccinated, however, it added that the "average masks" huge differences across regions and economic groupings. Also Read | FDA approves 'mix and match' strategy for all COVID-19 vaccines approved in US The WHO chief urged countries to "protect and support" healthcare workers and ensure safe working conditions for them including regular payment of salaries and pay equity. "More than 10 months since the first #COVID19 vaccines were approved, the fact that millions of health workers still haven’t been vaccinated is an indictment on the countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity pic.twitter.com/ZVe4NiqW6K — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 21, 2021 × The UN health body urged countries to "prioritise" coronavirus vaccines for healthcare workers. "More than ten months since the first vaccines were approved, the fact that millions of health workers still haven’t been vaccinated is an indictment on the countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines," Tedros said. Also Read | Two doses of Covishield and Pfizer vaccine provide 90% safety from Covid: Study Amid the large scale vaccination drive worldwide, Tedros highlighted the "harsh reality of vaccine inequity", saying that, "high- and upper-middle income countries have now administered almost half as many booster shots as the total number of vaccines administered in low-income countries." "It’s clear what needs to happen: The countries that have already reached the 40% target – which includes all the @g20org countries – must give their spot in the vaccine delivery queue to #COVAX and AVAT"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity https://t.co/20Ugdre4ph — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 21, 2021 × Tedros said although 20 countries have pledged to donate over 1.2 billion vaccines to Covax, however, just 150 million doses have been delivered so far with "no timeline". Also Read: Covid pandemic will easily drag on deep into 2022, warns WHO "We cannot have equity without transparency," Tedros said as he asked manufacturers to "prioritise" contracts with Covax while asking for intellectual property rights waiver "We are not asking for charity, we are calling for a commonsense investment in the global recovery," he said. (With inputs from Agencies)

180,000 healthcare workers may have died due to COVID-19: WHO

It is a big day for India as today it achieved the historic milestone of completing 1 billion (100 crores) doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, nine months after it launched “the world’s biggest vaccination drive”.

India celebrates historic milestone, hits 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine milestone

India today achieved the historic milestone of completing 1 billion (100 crore) doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, nine months after it launched “the world’s biggest vaccination drive”.

Covid-19: India crosses 1 billion vaccination mark

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said he had an interaction with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on various issues related to health and the latter lauded the "mammoth efforts" undertaken by the Indian government for vaccination against COVID-19.

The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in India crossed 99 core on Tuesday and as the country is close to administering 100 crore doses, the Centre has urged the states to focus on the second-dose coverage of vaccination in light of an adequate availability of vaccine doses.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/dcgi-seeks-technical-opinion-to-approve-covaxin-for-kids-421886">DCGI seeks 'technical opinion' to approve Covaxin for kids</a>

"Had a detailed interaction with DG WHO @DrTedros, accompanied by other senior officials of @WHO, on various issues related to health, including pandemic management and WHO reforms. DG WHO lauded the mammoth efforts undertaken by the Indian government for #COVID19 vaccination," Mandaviya said in a tweet.

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Had a detailed interaction with DG WHO <a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTedros</a>, accompanied by other senior officials of <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WHO</a>, on various issues related to health, including pandemic management and WHO reforms. 
 
DG WHO lauded the mammoth efforts undertaken by the Indian government for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> vaccination.
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) <a href="https://twitter.com/mansukhmandviya/status/1450493019866611712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

According to official sources, around 74.45 per cent of India's eligible adult population has been administered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and around 30.63 per cent have received both doses.

"We are at 99 crores. Go for it India, continue to rapidly march towards our milestone of 100 crore #COVID19 vaccinations," Mandaviya said in another tweet.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said he had an interaction with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on various issues related to health and the latter lauded the "mammoth efforts" undertaken by the Indian government for vaccination against COVID-19.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said he had an interaction with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on various issues related to health and the latter lauded the "mammoth efforts" undertaken by the Indian government for vaccination against COVID-19. The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in India crossed 99 core on Tuesday and as the country is close to administering 100 crore doses, the Centre has urged the states to focus on the second-dose coverage of vaccination in light of an adequate availability of vaccine doses. Also Read | DCGI seeks 'technical opinion' to approve Covaxin for kids "Had a detailed interaction with DG WHO @DrTedros, accompanied by other senior officials of @WHO, on various issues related to health, including pandemic management and WHO reforms. DG WHO lauded the mammoth efforts undertaken by the Indian government for #COVID19 vaccination," Mandaviya said in a tweet. Had a detailed interaction with DG WHO @DrTedros, accompanied by other senior officials of @WHO, on various issues related to health, including pandemic management and WHO reforms. DG WHO lauded the mammoth efforts undertaken by the Indian government for #COVID19 vaccination. — Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) October 19, 2021 × According to official sources, around 74.45 per cent of India's eligible adult population has been administered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and around 30.63 per cent have received both doses. "We are at 99 crores. Go for it India, continue to rapidly march towards our milestone of 100 crore #COVID19 vaccinations," Mandaviya said in another tweet.

WHO director general has lauded India's Covid vaccination efforts: Health Minister

India's second wave is subsiding. Schools have reopened. Kids are back in classrooms. But, are they vaccinated? The DCGI is yet to approve Covaxin for emergency use in children. Palki Sharma tells you why the process should be fast-tracked.

Gravitas: Why India needs to begin vaccinating Children

Thousands of children returned to school in Sydney on Monday after months of home learning as Australia's largest city, buoyed by rising vaccination rates, eased more COVID-19 restrictions.

Masks will no longer be mandatory in offices and more people will be allowed to gather in homes and outdoors after New South Wales state, home to Sydney, reached an 80 per cent&nbsp;double dose inoculation rate for people aged over 16 over the weekend.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-australian-cops-check-mans-beverage-to-verify-excuse-for-not-wearing-mask-enrage-netizens-421483">Watch: Australian cops check man’s beverage to verify excuse for not wearing mask, enrage netizens</a>

The latest in a series of planned easing of restrictions marks a shift by Australia's largest cities to living with the virus, a strategy officials have warned will bring a greater number of COVID-19 cases in coming weeks.

"This is not over, there is a long journey to go," New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Monday, urging people to strictly follow the remaining health rules.

Retail stores, pubs and gyms can allow more vaccinated patrons and nightclubs can reopen for seated drinking, while weddings can have unlimited guests. However, all must follow social distancing measures.

The return to the classroom has been staggered, with the youngest and eldest students - those in kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 - returning on Monday. All others return next week.

New South Wales reported 265 new cases on Monday, the lowest single-day rise in 10 weeks and well below a high of 1,599 in early September.

Neighbouring Victoria reported 1,903 new cases, up from 1,838 a day earlier. State capital Melbourne is on track to begin exiting its lockdown on Friday as full vaccination levels near 70 per cent. The city has endured around nine months under strict stay-home orders since March 2020 - the longest in the world, according to Australian media.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/sydney-covid-19-cases-ease-further-as-focus-shifts-to-reviving-economy-420">Sydney COVID-19 cases ease further as focus shifts to reviving economy</a>

Some virus-free states, however, have flagged they will keep internal borders closed amid fears that reopening could overwhelm their health systems.

By contrast, the federal government said it would roll out its vaccination passport for international travel from Tuesday, a key step in its plan to allow Australian citizens to travel abroad from next month.

Authorities said last week that vaccinated international travellers, initially only citizens and permanent residents, will be allowed to enter Sydney from November&nbsp;1 without the need to quarantine. read more .

With some 145,000 cases and 1,543 deaths, Australia's exposure to the coronavirus pandemic has been relatively low.

Thousands of children returned to school in Sydney on Monday after months of home learning as Australia's largest city, buoyed by rising vaccination rates, eased more COVID-19 restrictions.

Thousands of children returned to school in Sydney on Monday after months of home learning as Australia's largest city, buoyed by rising vaccination rates, eased more COVID-19 restrictions. Masks will no longer be mandatory in offices and more people will be allowed to gather in homes and outdoors after New South Wales state, home to Sydney, reached an 80 per cent double dose inoculation rate for people aged over 16 over the weekend. Also Read | Watch: Australian cops check man’s beverage to verify excuse for not wearing mask, enrage netizens The latest in a series of planned easing of restrictions marks a shift by Australia's largest cities to living with the virus, a strategy officials have warned will bring a greater number of COVID-19 cases in coming weeks. "This is not over, there is a long journey to go," New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Monday, urging people to strictly follow the remaining health rules. Retail stores, pubs and gyms can allow more vaccinated patrons and nightclubs can reopen for seated drinking, while weddings can have unlimited guests. However, all must follow social distancing measures. The return to the classroom has been staggered, with the youngest and eldest students - those in kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 - returning on Monday. All others return next week. New South Wales reported 265 new cases on Monday, the lowest single-day rise in 10 weeks and well below a high of 1,599 in early September. Neighbouring Victoria reported 1,903 new cases, up from 1,838 a day earlier. State capital Melbourne is on track to begin exiting its lockdown on Friday as full vaccination levels near 70 per cent. The city has endured around nine months under strict stay-home orders since March 2020 - the longest in the world, according to Australian media. Also Read | Sydney COVID-19 cases ease further as focus shifts to reviving economy Some virus-free states, however, have flagged they will keep internal borders closed amid fears that reopening could overwhelm their health systems. By contrast, the federal government said it would roll out its vaccination passport for international travel from Tuesday, a key step in its plan to allow Australian citizens to travel abroad from next month. Authorities said last week that vaccinated international travellers, initially only citizens and permanent residents, will be allowed to enter Sydney from November 1 without the need to quarantine. read more . With some 145,000 cases and 1,543 deaths, Australia's exposure to the coronavirus pandemic has been relatively low.

Sydney eases more COVID-19 curbs as vaccinations pass milestone

Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath said on Tuesday that India is doing well in terms of vaccinating its own people, which is undoubtedly beneficial to its economy, as the global financial organisation forecast 9.5 per cent growth for India in 2021 in its current projection. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indian-economy-to-grow-at-95-per-cent-in-2021-imf-420211">Also read | Indian economy to grow at 9.5 per cent in 2021: IMF</a>

"We haven't changed our growth projection for India for this year.I mean, India got out of a very, very challenging second wave, which resulted in a huge downgrade in July, but we have no change (in its growth rate predictions) as of now, said Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist of the IMF, during a virtual conference call with reporters on Tuesday.&nbsp;

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Watch | India to resume export of COVID-19 vaccines

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-to-resume-export-of-covid-19-vaccines-419098/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

India's growth estimate in the current World Economic Outlook is unchanged from the previous WEO update in July this summer, although it is three percentage points lower in 2021 and 1.6 percentage points lower than in April.

According to the most recent WEO update, issued before of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, India's GDP, which fell by 7.3% last year owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, is predicted to expand by 9.5% in 2021 and 8.5% in 2022.

The global economy is expected to grow at a 5.9 percent annual rate in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022.

(With inputs from agencies)

Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath said on Tuesday that India is doing well in terms of vaccinating its own people, which is undoubtedly beneficial to its economy, as the global financial organisation forecast 9.

Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath said on Tuesday that India is doing well in terms of vaccinating its own people, which is undoubtedly beneficial to its economy, as the global financial organisation forecast 9.5 per cent growth for India in 2021 in its current projection. Also read | Indian economy to grow at 9.5 per cent in 2021: IMF "We haven't changed our growth projection for India for this year.I mean, India got out of a very, very challenging second wave, which resulted in a huge downgrade in July, but we have no change (in its growth rate predictions) as of now, said Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist of the IMF, during a virtual conference call with reporters on Tuesday. She stated that in order to ensure consistent growth, India must maintain its vaccination rate, and that public infrastructure investment will accelerate economic recovery. × Watch | India to resume export of COVID-19 vaccines India's growth estimate in the current World Economic Outlook is unchanged from the previous WEO update in July this summer, although it is three percentage points lower in 2021 and 1.6 percentage points lower than in April. According to the most recent WEO update, issued before of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, India's GDP, which fell by 7.3% last year owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, is predicted to expand by 9.5% in 2021 and 8.5% in 2022. The global economy is expected to grow at a 5.9 percent annual rate in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022. (With inputs from agencies)

High vaccination rate will aid India's economic recovery: Gita Gopinath

Andy Murray expects unvaccinated players to compete at the Australian Open but says he would support moves by local authorities to impose stricter conditions on them at Melbourne Park than those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Victoria sports minister Martin Pakula said on Tuesday that players planning to compete at the first Grand Slam of the year should get vaccinated to give themselves the best chance of competing in Melbourne.

Tennis Australia has declined to comment on arrangements for players based on their vaccination status.

ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/daniil-medvedev-overcomes-filip-krajinovic-to-set-up-dimitrov-clash-at-indian-wells-420159">Daniil Medvedev overcomes Filip Krajinovic to set up Dimitrov clash at Indian Wells</a>

However, vaccinated players are expected to given more freedom to move around and may also be able to skip the country`s mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

"My understanding is if you're unvaccinated you're still allowed to play, it's just the rules are going to be different," Murray told a news conference after Tuesday`s third-round Indian Wells defeat by Alexander Zverev.

"You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That`s the player`s choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that.

"It would be great if more players got vaccinated.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/lost-and-found-andy-murrays-wedding-ring-remains-in-headline-as-he-reaches-second-round-at-indian-wells-419418">Lost and found: Andy Murray's wedding ring remains in headline as he reaches second round at Indian Wells</a>

"Australia in particular has been very, very strict over there. The public there have had to endure a painful 18 months or whatever.

"If people are going to come into the country and potentially risk an outbreak in their community, yeah, that`s understandable."

World number four Zverev, who in April said he had not been vaccinated, did not want to be stuck in the middle of the debate.

"I fully respect the decisions of players that are not vaccinated. I also do respect the decision that the Australian government is giving," he said.

"I don't want to be in the middle of something which I kind of am not involved in because I don`t have that issue of the two-week quarantine, all that. I don't want to go against anybody here."

The Australian Open is due to start on Jan. 17.

Andy Murray expects unvaccinated players to compete at the Australian Open but says he would support moves by local authorities to impose stricter conditions on them at Melbourne Park than those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Andy Murray expects unvaccinated players to compete at the Australian Open but says he would support moves by local authorities to impose stricter conditions on them at Melbourne Park than those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Victoria sports minister Martin Pakula said on Tuesday that players planning to compete at the first Grand Slam of the year should get vaccinated to give themselves the best chance of competing in Melbourne. Tennis Australia has declined to comment on arrangements for players based on their vaccination status. ALSO READ: Daniil Medvedev overcomes Filip Krajinovic to set up Dimitrov clash at Indian Wells However, vaccinated players are expected to given more freedom to move around and may also be able to skip the country`s mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival. "My understanding is if you're unvaccinated you're still allowed to play, it's just the rules are going to be different," Murray told a news conference after Tuesday`s third-round Indian Wells defeat by Alexander Zverev. "You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That`s the player`s choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that. "It would be great if more players got vaccinated. ALSO READ: Lost and found: Andy Murray's wedding ring remains in headline as he reaches second round at Indian Wells "Australia in particular has been very, very strict over there. The public there have had to endure a painful 18 months or whatever. "If people are going to come into the country and potentially risk an outbreak in their community, yeah, that`s understandable." World number four Zverev, who in April said he had not been vaccinated, did not want to be stuck in the middle of the debate. "I fully respect the decisions of players that are not vaccinated. I also do respect the decision that the Australian government is giving," he said. "I don't want to be in the middle of something which I kind of am not involved in because I don`t have that issue of the two-week quarantine, all that. I don't want to go against anybody here." The Australian Open is due to start on Jan. 17.

Andy Murray says will support restrictions on unvaccinated players at Australian Open

The United Nations and World Health Organisation have come together for a collective goal, vaccine equity. The WHO had set an ambitious goal which is to get 40% of every country's population vaccinated by the end of this year.

United Nations, World Health Organisation come together for a collective goal

National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI) Chairperson Dr NK Arora has said that once the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children begins in India, priority would be given to children with comorbidities however severe.

In an interview with ANI, Dr Arora said, "We are going to prioritise COVID-19 vaccination for children with severe comorbidities and comorbidities so that we immediately immunise them and rest of the children who are healthy can be immunised subsequently."

Talking about how to prioritise the vaccination for children, Dr Arora said, "We are working on that and we are trying to identify those who are at highest risk of getting the severe disease and the need for hospitalisation. Within the next couple of weeks, the list will be available in the public domain. In addition, we are also making arrangements at different parts of the country so that these children do not have to travel and within their district, the vaccine is made available."

Earlier in August, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved Zydus Cadila's DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/uk-wants-trade-security-pact-with-india-says-foreign-secretary-liz-truss-417979">Also read | UK wants trade, security pact with India, says Foreign Secretary Liz Truss</a>

Now, the vaccines are waiting to be introduced in the national vaccination programme.

A WHO-AIIMS joint survey in June found out that seroprevalence was 55.7 per cent in the age group below 18 years and 63.5 per cent in 18 years and above. They also highlighted that there was no statistically significant difference in prevalence between adults and children.

Dr Arora also spoke about the reopening of schools as he said, "Children are vectors. They spread the infection but they themselves do not get infected. So it is important that adults who are surrounding them - be it family members, teachers, non-teaching staff - they need to be immunised and surrounded by a ring of protection."

In addition, he stated, "Our national target is to immunise all adults. We have reached half the landmark. Once adults are immunised we have about 44 crore children below 18 years of age and we are prepared for giving immunisation to children at the same speed."

National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI) Chairperson Dr NK Arora has said that once the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children begins in India, priority would be given to children with comorbidities however severe.

National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI) Chairperson Dr NK Arora has said that once the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children begins in India, priority would be given to children with comorbidities however severe. In an interview with ANI, Dr Arora said, "We are going to prioritise COVID-19 vaccination for children with severe comorbidities and comorbidities so that we immediately immunise them and rest of the children who are healthy can be immunised subsequently." Talking about how to prioritise the vaccination for children, Dr Arora said, "We are working on that and we are trying to identify those who are at highest risk of getting the severe disease and the need for hospitalisation. Within the next couple of weeks, the list will be available in the public domain. In addition, we are also making arrangements at different parts of the country so that these children do not have to travel and within their district, the vaccine is made available." Earlier in August, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved Zydus Cadila's DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above. Also read | UK wants trade, security pact with India, says Foreign Secretary Liz Truss Now, the vaccines are waiting to be introduced in the national vaccination programme. A WHO-AIIMS joint survey in June found out that seroprevalence was 55.7 per cent in the age group below 18 years and 63.5 per cent in 18 years and above. They also highlighted that there was no statistically significant difference in prevalence between adults and children. Dr Arora also spoke about the reopening of schools as he said, "Children are vectors. They spread the infection but they themselves do not get infected. So it is important that adults who are surrounding them - be it family members, teachers, non-teaching staff - they need to be immunised and surrounded by a ring of protection." In addition, he stated, "Our national target is to immunise all adults. We have reached half the landmark. Once adults are immunised we have about 44 crore children below 18 years of age and we are prepared for giving immunisation to children at the same speed."

Children with comorbidities to be prioritised for vaccination in India

The total number of recoveries from Covid on Saturday outnumbered the fresh cases in the last 24 hours. India reported a total of 24,354 fresh Covid cases, while recovery in the last 24 hours went up to 25,455 across the country.

According to Union Health Ministry's report on Saturday morning, as many as 234 Covid deaths were reported in the same time span, pushing the total death toll to 4,48,573 so far.

Recovery of 25,455 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 3,30,68,599. Consequently, India`s recovery rate stands at 97.86 per cent which is at its highest peak since March 2020.

The active caseload is presently 2,73,889, which is the lowest in 197 days. Active cases presently constitute 0.81 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

A total of 14,29,258 Covid tests were conducted. With this, India has so far conducted over 57,19,94,990 tests.

The weekly positivity rate at 1.68 per cent remains less than 3 per cent for the last 99 days now. The daily positivity rate reported to be 1.70 per cent which is below 3 per cent for the last 33 days and below 5 per cent for 116 consecutive days now.

With the administration of 69,33,838 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid vaccination coverage exceeded 89.74 crore as per provisional report till 7 am&nbsp;on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a total of 88,14,50,515 vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt of India and through direct state procurement category. According to the health ministry data, over 5.28 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.

The total number of recoveries from Covid on Saturday outnumbered the fresh cases in the last 24 hours. India reported a total of 24,354 fresh Covid cases, while recovery in the last 24 hours went up to 25,455 across the country.

The total number of recoveries from Covid on Saturday outnumbered the fresh cases in the last 24 hours. India reported a total of 24,354 fresh Covid cases, while recovery in the last 24 hours went up to 25,455 across the country. According to Union Health Ministry's report on Saturday morning, as many as 234 Covid deaths were reported in the same time span, pushing the total death toll to 4,48,573 so far. Recovery of 25,455 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 3,30,68,599. Consequently, India`s recovery rate stands at 97.86 per cent which is at its highest peak since March 2020. The active caseload is presently 2,73,889, which is the lowest in 197 days. Active cases presently constitute 0.81 per cent of the country's total positive cases. A total of 14,29,258 Covid tests were conducted. With this, India has so far conducted over 57,19,94,990 tests. The weekly positivity rate at 1.68 per cent remains less than 3 per cent for the last 99 days now. The daily positivity rate reported to be 1.70 per cent which is below 3 per cent for the last 33 days and below 5 per cent for 116 consecutive days now. With the administration of 69,33,838 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid vaccination coverage exceeded 89.74 crore as per provisional report till 7 am on Saturday. Meanwhile, a total of 88,14,50,515 vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt of India and through direct state procurement category. According to the health ministry data, over 5.28 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.

India logs 24,354 Covid cases and 234 deaths in 24 hours

India reports 24,354 new cases and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active caseload at 2,73,889; lowest in 197 days, Active cases presently constitute 0.81 per cent of the country`s total positive cases- &nbsp;says Ministry of health and family welfare.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.86 per cent, highest since March 2020. At least 28,246 recoveries in the last 24 hours took the total number of recoveries to 3,30,43,144 in India

A total of 14,29,258 Covid tests were conducted. With this, India has so far conducted over 57,19,94,990 tests.

The weekly positivity rate at 1.68 per cent remains less than 3 per cent for the last 99 days now. The daily positivity rate reported to be 1.70 per cent which is below 3 per cent for the last 33 days and below 5 per cent for 116 consecutive days now.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.86 per cent, highest since March 2020. At least 28,246 recoveries in the last 24 hours took the total number of recoveries to 3,30,43,144 in India.

Vaccine Dose in India

With the administration of 69,33,838 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India`s Covid vaccination coverage exceeded 89.74 crore as per provisional report till 7 a,m. on Saturday - said the Union health ministry.

Meanwhile ,36,32,00,842 persons in the 18-44 category across all states and union territories have received their first dose and a total of 8,49,70,800 have received their second dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive . 
&nbsp;

India reports 24,354 new cases and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active caseload at 2,73,889; lowest in 197 days, Active cases presently constitute 0.81 per cent of the country`s total positive cases- says Ministry of health and family welfare.

India reports 24,354 new cases and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active caseload at 2,73,889; lowest in 197 days, Active cases presently constitute 0.81 per cent of the country`s total positive cases- says Ministry of health and family welfare. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.86 per cent, highest since March 2020. At least 28,246 recoveries in the last 24 hours took the total number of recoveries to 3,30,43,144 in India A total of 14,29,258 Covid tests were conducted. With this, India has so far conducted over 57,19,94,990 tests. The weekly positivity rate at 1.68 per cent remains less than 3 per cent for the last 99 days now. The daily positivity rate reported to be 1.70 per cent which is below 3 per cent for the last 33 days and below 5 per cent for 116 consecutive days now. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.86 per cent, highest since March 2020. At least 28,246 recoveries in the last 24 hours took the total number of recoveries to 3,30,43,144 in India. Vaccine Dose in India With the administration of 69,33,838 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India`s Covid vaccination coverage exceeded 89.74 crore as per provisional report till 7 a,m. on Saturday - said the Union health ministry. Meanwhile ,36,32,00,842 persons in the 18-44 category across all states and union territories have received their first dose and a total of 8,49,70,800 have received their second dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive .

India reports 24,354 new cases and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours

Australia reported 2,355 new cases of the Delta coronavirus variant on Saturday, as the push to vaccinate the country`s population continues in order to end lockdowns and allow for the reopening of international borders.

An 18-month ban on international travel is set to be gradually lifted from next month for some states when 80 per cent of people aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated.

Fifty-five percent of Australians were fully inoculated as of October 1, but nearly 80 per cent have received at least one shot.

Victoria state, which reported a record 1,488 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, ordered on Friday about a million employees across industries to receive at least one dose of a COVID vaccine by October 15 to keep working.

The state, where about a quarter of Australia`s population of 25 million live, has been in a hard lockdown since August 5.

New South Wales (NSW) state, battling the country`s biggest Delta outbreak, reported 813 cases and 10 deaths on Saturday. Nearly 88% of the state`s eligible population have been partially vaccinated and 65 per cent fully.

Sydney, the NSW state capital, has been under lockdown since June 26, with some restrictions scheduled to be lifted on October&nbsp;11 and more later in the month.

NSW is expected to be the first state to fully open up once the 80 per cent&nbsp;vaccination is reached, but authorities have warned case numbers are expected to soar and hospitals will come under strain as Australia learns to live with COVID-19.

"I`m worried about how we are going to cope with it culturally," Kirsty Keating, an Australia citizen originally from Scotland who lives in Sydney, told Reuters about the country`s reopening.

"Like most of the people I know overseas have lived with COVID and we haven`t and I think it could put a pressure on our health system and make everybody very tense."

Australia slammed the international border shut in March 2020. Since then, only a limited number of people have been granted a permit to leave the country for critical business or humanitarian reasons.

Citizens and permanent residents have been allowed to return from abroad, subject to quota limits and a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense.

"I think it`s great coming up to Christmas that people get to reunite with their families," Peter Hendriks, a priest in Sydney, told Reuters about the decision to reopen borders.

Australia reported 2,355 new cases of the Delta coronavirus variant on Saturday, as the push to vaccinate the country`s population continues in order to end lockdowns and allow for the reopening of international borders.

Australia reported 2,355 new cases of the Delta coronavirus variant on Saturday, as the push to vaccinate the country`s population continues in order to end lockdowns and allow for the reopening of international borders. An 18-month ban on international travel is set to be gradually lifted from next month for some states when 80 per cent of people aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated. Fifty-five percent of Australians were fully inoculated as of October 1, but nearly 80 per cent have received at least one shot. Victoria state, which reported a record 1,488 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, ordered on Friday about a million employees across industries to receive at least one dose of a COVID vaccine by October 15 to keep working. The state, where about a quarter of Australia`s population of 25 million live, has been in a hard lockdown since August 5. New South Wales (NSW) state, battling the country`s biggest Delta outbreak, reported 813 cases and 10 deaths on Saturday. Nearly 88% of the state`s eligible population have been partially vaccinated and 65 per cent fully. Sydney, the NSW state capital, has been under lockdown since June 26, with some restrictions scheduled to be lifted on October 11 and more later in the month. NSW is expected to be the first state to fully open up once the 80 per cent vaccination is reached, but authorities have warned case numbers are expected to soar and hospitals will come under strain as Australia learns to live with COVID-19. "I`m worried about how we are going to cope with it culturally," Kirsty Keating, an Australia citizen originally from Scotland who lives in Sydney, told Reuters about the country`s reopening. "Like most of the people I know overseas have lived with COVID and we haven`t and I think it could put a pressure on our health system and make everybody very tense." Australia slammed the international border shut in March 2020. Since then, only a limited number of people have been granted a permit to leave the country for critical business or humanitarian reasons. Citizens and permanent residents have been allowed to return from abroad, subject to quota limits and a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense. "I think it`s great coming up to Christmas that people get to reunite with their families," Peter Hendriks, a priest in Sydney, told Reuters about the decision to reopen borders.

Australia reports 2,355 new COVID-19 cases as vaccination push continues

Sources told WION that British citizens arriving in India from Monday will face a mandatory 10-day quarantine irrespective of vaccination status. These will be applicable from the 4th of October.

British citizens arriving in India to face a mandatory 10-day quarantine

As the United States and Europe ramped up their COVID-19 vaccination programs, the Asia-Pacific region, once lauded for its pandemic response, struggled to get them off the ground. Now, many of those laggards are speeding ahead, lifting hopes of a return to normality in nations resigned to repeated lockdowns and onerous restrictions.

The turnabout is as much a testament to the region’s success in securing supplies and working out the kinks in their programs as it is to vaccine hesitancy and political opposition in the United States.

South Korea, Japan and Malaysia have even pulled ahead of the U.S. in the number of vaccine doses administered per 100 people — a pace that seemed unthinkable in the spring. Several have surpassed the United States in fully vaccinating their populations or are on track to do so, limiting the perniciousness of the delta variant of the coronavirus.

In South Korea, the authorities said vaccines had helped keep most people out of the hospital. About 0.6% of fully vaccinated people who contracted COVID had severe illness and about 0.1% died, according to data collected by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from May to August.

In Japan, serious cases have fallen by half over the last month, to a little over 1,000 a day. Hospitalisations have plummeted from a high of just over 230,000 in late August to around 31,000 on Tuesday.

“It’s almost like the tortoise and the hare,” said Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute, a nonprofit organisation based in Seoul and focused on vaccine research for the developing world. “Asia was always going to use vaccines when they became available.”

Risks remain for the region. Most of the countries do not manufacture their own vaccines and could face supply problems if their governments approve boosters.

In Southeast Asia, the rollout has been slow and uneven, dragging down economic prospects there. The Asian Development Bank recently lowered its 2021 growth outlook for developing Asia to 7.1% from 7.3%, in part over vaccination issues.

But for much of the region, the shift has been striking, success that is rooted in its different worldviews and governance structures.

In a contrast with the United States, vaccines were never a polarising issue in Asia-Pacific.

Although each country has had to contend with its own anti-vaccine movements, they have been relatively small. They have never benefited from an ecosystem — sympathetic media, advocacy groups and politicians — that has allowed misinformation to influence the populace.

Overall, most Asians have trusted their governments to do the right thing, and they were willing to put the needs of the community over their individual freedoms.

Reuben Ng, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy who has studied vaccine hesitancy globally for the past decade, said that pre-COVID, the discussion around immunisation had always been mixed in Asia because of some skepticism about the safety. But Ng and his team, who have been analysing media reports, have found that the region now holds mostly positive views on vaccines.

There is widespread belief in Asia that vaccines are the only way out of the pandemic. This month, when a vaccination center in Tokyo offered 200 walk-in shots for young people, hopefuls queued from the early morning hours, and the line extended for blocks.

In South Korea, when the authorities opened vaccinations to people in their 50s, roughly 10 million simultaneously logged on to a government website to sign up for shots. The system, which was designed to process up to 300,000 requests at a time, temporarily crashed.

People in poorer nations whose lives were upended by extended lockdowns felt they had no choice but to get vaccinated. Indonesia and the Philippines are home to thousands of daily-wage workers who cannot rely on unemployment benefits to survive.

Arisman, 35, a motorcycle taxi driver in Jakarta, Indonesia, said he got his second shot of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine in July because his job involved contact with many people.

“If I get sick, I don’t get money,” said Arisman, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “If I don’t work, I don’t get money.”

The lack of social safety nets in many Asian countries motivated many governments to roll out the vaccines quickly, said Tikki Pangestu, a co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Immunisation Coalition, a group that assesses COVID-19 vaccine preparedness. “At the end of the day, if they don’t do it, they’re going to end up with social unrest, which is the last thing they want,” he added.

When the United States and European nations were rushing to vaccinate their people late last year, many Asian countries felt they had the luxury of time. They had kept the coronavirus under control by masking, testing and keeping their borders shut. Many nations wanted to wait until the clinical trials were completed before they placed orders.

Then came the delta variant. Despite keeping their countries largely sealed off, the virus found its way in. And when it did, it spread quickly. In the summer, South Korea battled its worst wave of infections; hospitals in Indonesia ran out of oxygen and beds; and in Thailand, health care workers had to turn away patients.

With cases surging, countries quickly shifted their vaccination approach.

Sydney announced a lockdown in June after an unvaccinated limousine driver caught the delta variant from an American aircrew. Then, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had previously said vaccination “was not a race,” called in July on Australians to “go for gold” in the country’s inoculation drive.

He moved to overcome a supply shortage, compounded by the slow regulatory approval. In August, Australia bought 1 million Pfizer doses from Poland; this month, Morrison announced a purchase of 1 million Moderna shots from Europe.

When the delta outbreak emerged, fewer than 25% of Australians over age 16 had received a single shot. In the state of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, 86% of the adult population has now received a first dose, and 62% of adults are fully vaccinated. The country expects to fully inoculate 80% of its population over 16 by early November.

“There was great community leadership — there were people from across the political divide who came out to support vaccination,” said Greg Dore, an infectious-disease expert at the University of New South Wales. “It really helped us turn around a level of hesitancy that was there.”

Many governments have used incentives to encourage inoculations.

In South Korea, the authorities eased restrictions in August on private gatherings for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to meet in larger groups while maintaining stricter curbs for others. Singapore, which has fully vaccinated 82% of its population, previously announced similar measures.

Researchers there have also analysed the pockets of people who refuse to be inoculated and are trying to persuade them.

Ng from the National University of Singapore and his team recently found out that a group of seniors who lived alone were worried about possible adverse effects from the vaccine, fearing they could die in solitude. The volunteers promised they would visit after the vaccinations, a strategy that worked.

“This targeted approach does make a difference, because at the end of the day, the mass communications campaign can only take you so far,” Ng said.

Once countries were able to order vaccines, many had to scramble to set up the infrastructures needed to immunise the masses and quell public anger over the initially slow rollouts.

Miharu Kuzuhara, 26, a graphic illustrator in Tokyo, got her Pfizer shots in July and August but was frustrated that she had to wait that long. “We were losing to our other Asian neighbors, like Taiwan and South Korea,” Kuzuhara said. “I had this feeling of disappointment, like Japan is really the worst.”

The Japanese government dispatched the country’s military to run vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka and authorised companies to give shots to their employees. Local governments offered payments to doctors and nurses to administer the shots during their days off.

The share of people inoculated against COVID-19 in Japan, at 69.6%, recently overtook that of the United States. In some rural areas, vaccination rates are already close to 100%.

“Normally, people are hesitant, they’re not very enthusiastic about vaccines,” said Dr. Takashi Nakano, a professor of infectious diseases at Kawasaki Medical School. But “there was strong political commitment, a real feeling in the nation that because this is an infectious disease, we need to take steps to prevent it.”

As the United States and Europe ramped up their COVID-19 vaccination programs, the Asia-Pacific region, once lauded for its pandemic response, struggled to get them off the ground.

As the United States and Europe ramped up their COVID-19 vaccination programs, the Asia-Pacific region, once lauded for its pandemic response, struggled to get them off the ground. Now, many of those laggards are speeding ahead, lifting hopes of a return to normality in nations resigned to repeated lockdowns and onerous restrictions. The turnabout is as much a testament to the region’s success in securing supplies and working out the kinks in their programs as it is to vaccine hesitancy and political opposition in the United States. South Korea, Japan and Malaysia have even pulled ahead of the U.S. in the number of vaccine doses administered per 100 people — a pace that seemed unthinkable in the spring. Several have surpassed the United States in fully vaccinating their populations or are on track to do so, limiting the perniciousness of the delta variant of the coronavirus. In South Korea, the authorities said vaccines had helped keep most people out of the hospital. About 0.6% of fully vaccinated people who contracted COVID had severe illness and about 0.1% died, according to data collected by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from May to August. In Japan, serious cases have fallen by half over the last month, to a little over 1,000 a day. Hospitalisations have plummeted from a high of just over 230,000 in late August to around 31,000 on Tuesday. “It’s almost like the tortoise and the hare,” said Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute, a nonprofit organisation based in Seoul and focused on vaccine research for the developing world. “Asia was always going to use vaccines when they became available.” Risks remain for the region. Most of the countries do not manufacture their own vaccines and could face supply problems if their governments approve boosters. In Southeast Asia, the rollout has been slow and uneven, dragging down economic prospects there. The Asian Development Bank recently lowered its 2021 growth outlook for developing Asia to 7.1% from 7.3%, in part over vaccination issues. But for much of the region, the shift has been striking, success that is rooted in its different worldviews and governance structures. In a contrast with the United States, vaccines were never a polarising issue in Asia-Pacific. Although each country has had to contend with its own anti-vaccine movements, they have been relatively small. They have never benefited from an ecosystem — sympathetic media, advocacy groups and politicians — that has allowed misinformation to influence the populace. Overall, most Asians have trusted their governments to do the right thing, and they were willing to put the needs of the community over their individual freedoms. Reuben Ng, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy who has studied vaccine hesitancy globally for the past decade, said that pre-COVID, the discussion around immunisation had always been mixed in Asia because of some skepticism about the safety. But Ng and his team, who have been analysing media reports, have found that the region now holds mostly positive views on vaccines. There is widespread belief in Asia that vaccines are the only way out of the pandemic. This month, when a vaccination center in Tokyo offered 200 walk-in shots for young people, hopefuls queued from the early morning hours, and the line extended for blocks. In South Korea, when the authorities opened vaccinations to people in their 50s, roughly 10 million simultaneously logged on to a government website to sign up for shots. The system, which was designed to process up to 300,000 requests at a time, temporarily crashed. People in poorer nations whose lives were upended by extended lockdowns felt they had no choice but to get vaccinated. Indonesia and the Philippines are home to thousands of daily-wage workers who cannot rely on unemployment benefits to survive. Arisman, 35, a motorcycle taxi driver in Jakarta, Indonesia, said he got his second shot of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine in July because his job involved contact with many people. “If I get sick, I don’t get money,” said Arisman, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “If I don’t work, I don’t get money.” The lack of social safety nets in many Asian countries motivated many governments to roll out the vaccines quickly, said Tikki Pangestu, a co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Immunisation Coalition, a group that assesses COVID-19 vaccine preparedness. “At the end of the day, if they don’t do it, they’re going to end up with social unrest, which is the last thing they want,” he added. When the United States and European nations were rushing to vaccinate their people late last year, many Asian countries felt they had the luxury of time. They had kept the coronavirus under control by masking, testing and keeping their borders shut. Many nations wanted to wait until the clinical trials were completed before they placed orders. Then came the delta variant. Despite keeping their countries largely sealed off, the virus found its way in. And when it did, it spread quickly. In the summer, South Korea battled its worst wave of infections; hospitals in Indonesia ran out of oxygen and beds; and in Thailand, health care workers had to turn away patients. With cases surging, countries quickly shifted their vaccination approach. Sydney announced a lockdown in June after an unvaccinated limousine driver caught the delta variant from an American aircrew. Then, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had previously said vaccination “was not a race,” called in July on Australians to “go for gold” in the country’s inoculation drive. He moved to overcome a supply shortage, compounded by the slow regulatory approval. In August, Australia bought 1 million Pfizer doses from Poland; this month, Morrison announced a purchase of 1 million Moderna shots from Europe. When the delta outbreak emerged, fewer than 25% of Australians over age 16 had received a single shot. In the state of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, 86% of the adult population has now received a first dose, and 62% of adults are fully vaccinated. The country expects to fully inoculate 80% of its population over 16 by early November. “There was great community leadership — there were people from across the political divide who came out to support vaccination,” said Greg Dore, an infectious-disease expert at the University of New South Wales. “It really helped us turn around a level of hesitancy that was there.” Many governments have used incentives to encourage inoculations. In South Korea, the authorities eased restrictions in August on private gatherings for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to meet in larger groups while maintaining stricter curbs for others. Singapore, which has fully vaccinated 82% of its population, previously announced similar measures. Researchers there have also analysed the pockets of people who refuse to be inoculated and are trying to persuade them. Ng from the National University of Singapore and his team recently found out that a group of seniors who lived alone were worried about possible adverse effects from the vaccine, fearing they could die in solitude. The volunteers promised they would visit after the vaccinations, a strategy that worked. “This targeted approach does make a difference, because at the end of the day, the mass communications campaign can only take you so far,” Ng said. Once countries were able to order vaccines, many had to scramble to set up the infrastructures needed to immunise the masses and quell public anger over the initially slow rollouts. Miharu Kuzuhara, 26, a graphic illustrator in Tokyo, got her Pfizer shots in July and August but was frustrated that she had to wait that long. “We were losing to our other Asian neighbors, like Taiwan and South Korea,” Kuzuhara said. “I had this feeling of disappointment, like Japan is really the worst.” The Japanese government dispatched the country’s military to run vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka and authorised companies to give shots to their employees. Local governments offered payments to doctors and nurses to administer the shots during their days off. The share of people inoculated against COVID-19 in Japan, at 69.6%, recently overtook that of the United States. In some rural areas, vaccination rates are already close to 100%. “Normally, people are hesitant, they’re not very enthusiastic about vaccines,” said Dr. Takashi Nakano, a professor of infectious diseases at Kawasaki Medical School. But “there was strong political commitment, a real feeling in the nation that because this is an infectious disease, we need to take steps to prevent it.”

How Asia, once a vaccination laggard, is revving up inoculations

More than one million Israelis will lose their Green Pass after a policy change states that a COVID-19 booster shot is required six months after receiving the first two jabs.

Over 1 million Israelis to lose green pass

According to LinkedIn data provided to Forbes, the number of job advertisements requiring COVID-19 immunisation has "jumped 20 times" in the last two months.

Since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded full permission to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot in August, a LinkedIn spokesman told Forbes that the platform has witnessed a "dramatic spike" in postings requiring immunisation.&nbsp;

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According to the spokesman, such statistics indicated that "businesses were waiting" for FDA permission before imposing vaccine mandates as a work condition.&nbsp;

Although LinkedIn did not provide exact data, it did include food production, IT services, biotechnology, marketing/advertising, and legal as the businesses with the most vaccine-related job listings.

The report also stated that New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Fayetteville (Arkansas), and Washington, D.C. had the highest number of jobs requiring vaccinations.&nbsp;

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According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, job candidates are beginning to list their vaccination status on their applications.

According to the same article, Adzuna, a search engine that collects job listings from thousands of sources throughout the world, has seen a spike in the number of positions citing COVID-19 vaccination as a condition.

(With inputs from agencies)

According to LinkedIn data provided to Forbes, the number of job advertisements requiring COVID-19 immunisation has "jumped 20 times" in the last two months. Since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded full permission to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot in August, a LinkedIn spokesman told Forbes that the platform has witnessed a "dramatic spike" in postings requiring immunisation.

According to LinkedIn data provided to Forbes, the number of job advertisements requiring COVID-19 immunisation has "jumped 20 times" in the last two months. Since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded full permission to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot in August, a LinkedIn spokesman told Forbes that the platform has witnessed a "dramatic spike" in postings requiring immunisation. ALSO READ | Democrats move to avert shutdown, but divisions imperil Biden's agenda According to the spokesman, such statistics indicated that "businesses were waiting" for FDA permission before imposing vaccine mandates as a work condition. Although LinkedIn did not provide exact data, it did include food production, IT services, biotechnology, marketing/advertising, and legal as the businesses with the most vaccine-related job listings. The report also stated that New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Fayetteville (Arkansas), and Washington, D.C. had the highest number of jobs requiring vaccinations. ALSO READ | Venezuela economic crisis: Over three-quarters live in extreme poverty According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, job candidates are beginning to list their vaccination status on their applications. According to the same article, Adzuna, a search engine that collects job listings from thousands of sources throughout the world, has seen a spike in the number of positions citing COVID-19 vaccination as a condition. (With inputs from agencies)

No jab, no job: Employment ads requiring vaccination witness 20-fold rise

Hundreds of sought-after nurses are leaving some U.S. hospitals that have established vaccine requirements for all employees, involving some protests and legal opposition. But most workers, especially at large hospital chains, appear to be complying with the policies.

New York hospitals and nursing homes are grappling with the state’s Monday deadline for workers to have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, with thousands of workers remaining unvaccinated and at risk of being fired. Several other states and cities have also imposed mandates for health care workers, with deadlines approaching.

All are also facing a looming federal vaccine mandate for hospital and nursing home staff that President Joe Biden ordered, although its exact scope and timing has yet to be announced.

The departures, especially of nurses, have compounded major staffing shortages over the course of the pandemic. The situation has become acutely difficult these past few months, particularly in regions where the delta variant has overwhelmed hospitals and caused new spikes in COVID cases among nursing home staffs and residents. In one instance, a hospital in upstate New York said it briefly had to stop delivering babies after six of its employees left rather than get vaccinated.

At Novant Health, a large hospital group based in North Carolina, 375 workers were suspended after not meeting the system’s vaccination deadline this month. Another 200 agreed to comply, increasing the vaccination rate to over 99% of its more than 35,000 employees, according to Novant.

Yet the loss of some employees “is going to be the cost of doing business in a pandemic,” said Dr. Saad B. Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, who has studied vaccine mandates. “I’m not seeing any widespread disruptive effect."

Dr. David H. Priest, an infectious-disease specialist and senior executive at Novant, said he believed that the hospital would persuade most of its workers by addressing their concerns. The hospital has “been working on this for weeks on end,” he said, by holding webinars and sending emails to help educate employees about the benefits of being immunized.

How the nation’s hospitals are handling the holdouts varies widely, and many facilities are waiting for federal guidelines. Others have set deadlines later this year.

Many hospitals are not establishing sharp cutoffs for when they might eventually fire someone.

UNC Health, another North Carolina group, said that it was confirming the status of about 900 employees. About 70 employees have left as a result of the system’s mandate, and the group has granted about 1,250 exemptions for medical or religious reasons. About 97% of its workforce have complied. Those who still need to be vaccinated or qualify for an exemption have until Nov. 2, providing what UNC described as “a last chance to remain employed.”

At Trinity Health, one of the first major hospital chains to announce a vaccine mandate, the percentage of its vaccinated staff has increased from 75% to 94%, said the group, which operates in 22 states.

SSM Health, a Catholic hospital group based in St. Louis, also adopted a mandate but said that few of its workers had left because of its requirement.

Hospitals and nursing homes have raised concerns about their ability to find workers if they impose strict requirements. The situation may be worse in rural areas, where limited numbers of workers are available. But healthy vaccinated workers may also ease staffing shortages.

At Houston Methodist, where 150 employees left from a workforce of about 26,000 people, the hospital said that there had been little lasting effect on its ability to hire people. And when Texas was hit with rising numbers of COVID cases over the summer, the hospital found that fewer of its workers were out sick.

“The mandate has not only protected our employees, but kept more of them at work during the pandemic,” a hospital spokeswoman said in an email.

ChristianaCare, a hospital group based in Wilmington, Delaware, said Monday that it had fired 150 employees for not complying with its vaccine mandate. But the group emphasized that over the past month it had hired more than 200 employees, many of whom are more comfortable working where they knew their colleagues were vaccinated.

Hundreds of sought-after nurses are leaving some U.S. hospitals that have established vaccine requirements for all employees, involving some protests and legal opposition.

Hundreds of sought-after nurses are leaving some U.S. hospitals that have established vaccine requirements for all employees, involving some protests and legal opposition. But most workers, especially at large hospital chains, appear to be complying with the policies. New York hospitals and nursing homes are grappling with the state’s Monday deadline for workers to have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, with thousands of workers remaining unvaccinated and at risk of being fired. Several other states and cities have also imposed mandates for health care workers, with deadlines approaching. All are also facing a looming federal vaccine mandate for hospital and nursing home staff that President Joe Biden ordered, although its exact scope and timing has yet to be announced. The departures, especially of nurses, have compounded major staffing shortages over the course of the pandemic. The situation has become acutely difficult these past few months, particularly in regions where the delta variant has overwhelmed hospitals and caused new spikes in COVID cases among nursing home staffs and residents. In one instance, a hospital in upstate New York said it briefly had to stop delivering babies after six of its employees left rather than get vaccinated. At Novant Health, a large hospital group based in North Carolina, 375 workers were suspended after not meeting the system’s vaccination deadline this month. Another 200 agreed to comply, increasing the vaccination rate to over 99% of its more than 35,000 employees, according to Novant. Yet the loss of some employees “is going to be the cost of doing business in a pandemic,” said Dr. Saad B. Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, who has studied vaccine mandates. “I’m not seeing any widespread disruptive effect." Dr. David H. Priest, an infectious-disease specialist and senior executive at Novant, said he believed that the hospital would persuade most of its workers by addressing their concerns. The hospital has “been working on this for weeks on end,” he said, by holding webinars and sending emails to help educate employees about the benefits of being immunized. How the nation’s hospitals are handling the holdouts varies widely, and many facilities are waiting for federal guidelines. Others have set deadlines later this year. Many hospitals are not establishing sharp cutoffs for when they might eventually fire someone. UNC Health, another North Carolina group, said that it was confirming the status of about 900 employees. About 70 employees have left as a result of the system’s mandate, and the group has granted about 1,250 exemptions for medical or religious reasons. About 97% of its workforce have complied. Those who still need to be vaccinated or qualify for an exemption have until Nov. 2, providing what UNC described as “a last chance to remain employed.” At Trinity Health, one of the first major hospital chains to announce a vaccine mandate, the percentage of its vaccinated staff has increased from 75% to 94%, said the group, which operates in 22 states. SSM Health, a Catholic hospital group based in St. Louis, also adopted a mandate but said that few of its workers had left because of its requirement. Hospitals and nursing homes have raised concerns about their ability to find workers if they impose strict requirements. The situation may be worse in rural areas, where limited numbers of workers are available. But healthy vaccinated workers may also ease staffing shortages. At Houston Methodist, where 150 employees left from a workforce of about 26,000 people, the hospital said that there had been little lasting effect on its ability to hire people. And when Texas was hit with rising numbers of COVID cases over the summer, the hospital found that fewer of its workers were out sick. “The mandate has not only protected our employees, but kept more of them at work during the pandemic,” a hospital spokeswoman said in an email. ChristianaCare, a hospital group based in Wilmington, Delaware, said Monday that it had fired 150 employees for not complying with its vaccine mandate. But the group emphasized that over the past month it had hired more than 200 employees, many of whom are more comfortable working where they knew their colleagues were vaccinated.

Many workers at US hospital chains with mandates are getting shots

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots to share with the world to 1 billion doses as he embraces the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year. Watch this report for more details.

US President Joe Biden sets 2022 vaccination goals for the world

Check Point, a software company, conducted a study to observe the black market for fake Covid vaccine certificates and found that the market has expanded to 29 countries all over the world. Out of these, the nine major countries are new, namely Austria, Brazil, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, UAE.

Black market for fake Covid vaccine certificates reported in 29 countries, says survey

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