Covid-19 pandemic: Vaccine ‘farce’ hits Australia, shots to be mandatory in Cambodia

As the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of letting up, ThePrint highlights the most important stories on the crisis from across the globe.

Representational image of a vaccine | Photo: Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg

New Delhi: The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the world — the latest count being more than 13,45,28,282 cases and 29,15,012 deaths.

Here, we highlight some of the important stories from around the world.

Egypt has entered an agreement with China’s Sinovec Biotech Ltd that it will manufacture the vaccine locally. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that while the vaccine against coronavirus remains voluntary, currently, it would be made mandatory ‘in the future’.

Egypt to produce over 80 mn Sinovac vaccines doses annually

Egypt has entered an agreement with China’s Sinovec Biotech Ltd that it will manufacture the vaccine locally and try produce 80 million doses yearly, reports Khaleej Times.

This could provide a boost in Egypt’s vaccination drive, which has just received 1.5 million doses for a population of 100 million.

“Egypt has so far received 8,54,400 doses of the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca as well as another 6,50,000 of the Chinese vaccine,” said the report.

Egypt has reported 2,08,082 cases of Covid-19 and 12,323 deaths.

Doctors in Australia oppose vaccine ‘farce’

Doctors’ clinics in Australia are witnessing a surge in calls from confused patients after the government on Thursday advised that the AstraZeneca vaccine could be avoided for people under 50, reports The Guardian.

Some of them have warned that their clinics are considering drawing out from the vaccine rollout owing to ‘farcical’ bureaucracy and vaccine delivery failures.

Doctors are now “grappling with the prospect of far longer consult times for each vaccination, as they explain the benefits of the effective AstraZeneca vaccine and the risks of extremely rare blood clotting events”, said the report.

Australia has recorded 29,388 cases of Covid-19 and 909 deaths.

‘Sceptical’ Cambodians to receive mandatory vaccinations

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that while the vaccine against coronavirus remains voluntary at present, it would be made mandatory ‘in the future’, reports Asia Times.

The report revealed that anecdotal evidence has suggested that a majority of Cambodians are hesitant to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Earlier, the government had also threatened to punish those who refused vaccinations by dismissing them from their jobs.

Cambodia has recorded 3,028 cases of Covid-19 and 24 deaths.

Conflict and Covid-19 cause hunger at record levels in Congo

A record 27.3 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are suffering from acute hunger. This is largely owing to the conflict in the country and the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Reuters.

“Militia violence has persisted in Congo for decades, particularly in the eastern borderlands with Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, despite the official end to a civil war in 2003,” said the report.

The areas worst hit by acute hunger were eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika, all of which have also been gravely affected by the conflict.

Congo has recorded 10,084 cases of Covid-19 and 137 deaths.

What else we are reading:

French scientists say injection error could explain AstraZeneca issues: The Connexion

Sharp pick-up in UK construction amid rapid economic recovery: The Guardian