Vendors wait after receiving the vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus at the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta on February 17, 2021. (ADEK BERRY / AFP)

JERUSALEM / BANGKOK / MANILA / SINGAPORE - Thousands of Indonesia’s religious figures gathered on Thursday for mass COVID-19 inoculations for clergy and faith groups, with monks, priests, imams and nuns queuing to receive their first doses of vaccine.

Monks in orange, brown and maroon robes sat on chairs evenly spaced across the basement car park of Jakarta’s Grand Istiqlal Mosque waiting to register for Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac.

Thursday’s was the biggest turnout yet, forcing health workers to turn away some people.

Vajra Sastra, a 22-year-old monk, said he hoped more could receive the vaccine sooner so his temple could reopen again for mass prayers.

“I don’t have any doubt about being vaccinated because for me, and some of our community members, we’re sure that Indonesia’s government chose the right vaccine.”

The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation has a state ideology that enshrines religious diversity in a secular system of government.

Authorities aim to immunise more than a 1,200 members of religious groups each day over a week.

Catholic nun Regitia Hati Kudus said she could resume her church duties while still following health protocols. 

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to end lockdowns and reopen economies.

Up until now, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables.

The research in Israel - two months into one of the world’s fastest rollouts, providing a rich source of data - showed two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94 percentacross all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much.

The study of about 1.2 million people also showed a single shot was 57 percent effective in protecting against symptomatic infections after two weeks, according to the data published and peer-reviewed in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The results of the study for the Clalit Research Institute were close to those in clinical trials last year which found two doses were found to be 95 percent effective.

Israel aims to reopen its economy by April 5 after having vaccinated all its eligible population and is in talks with vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna to open facilities in the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Israel reopened many businesses, including street shops and malls though with some leisure facilities being open only to people immunised by vaccine or by having recovered from COVID-19. Many school children have returned to class but middle-school pupils are still home-learning, while restaurants are allowed to provide take-out and deliveries only.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 3,698 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the tally in the country to 762,508.

Cambodia 

Cambodia said on Wednesday that all foreigners living or working in the kingdom will be able to receive free COVID-19 vaccines in due course.

"All foreign nationals who are currently residing and working in Cambodia can get vaccinated against COVID-19 at no charge in accordance with Cambodian COVID-19 vaccination plans," said a foreign ministry's letter sent to Diplomatic Missions and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Phnom Penh.

"The relevant vaccination details and procedures for the aforementioned foreign nationals will be provided in due course," the letter said.

The Southeast Asian country launched an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb. 10 after receiving the first batch of the Sinopharm vaccine from China.

Cambodia on Thursday confirmed 65 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 697, said a Ministry of Health (MoH) statement.

The new infections included 58 domestically transmitted cases in capital Phnom Penh and seven imported cases, the statement said, adding that the patients are currently undergoing treatment at various designated COVID-19 hospitals.

The kingdom has closed all schools, museums, cinemas and entertainment facilities in Phnom Penh and southern Kandal province for at least two weeks in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

India

India's health ministry said on Thursday that nearly 90 percent of the new cases reported in the country are from seven states - Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

"India's active caseload is 151,708 today comprising 1.37 percent of the total positive cases. This is largely attributable to the upsurge in daily new cases in the seven states," the ministry said.

During the last 24 hours, 16,738 new cases have been recorded across India, and the seven states together account for 89.57 percent of the new cases.

Maharashtra continues to report the highest new cases at 8,807, followed by Kerala and Punjab with 4,106 and 558 respectively.

On Wednesday India's federal government rushed high-level teams to a number of states that have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases and warned that any laxity in measures to check infection will escalate the ongoing pandemic in wake of new strains detected in certain countries.

On Thursday morning the ministry said the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 11,046,914 and the death toll has risen to 156,705.

Indonesia

Around 7.5 million doses of vaccines will be needed to support Indonesia’s private vaccination program, which has so far attracted 6,644 companies, according to the government. 

More broadly, the country hopes to vaccinate 70 million people by August as it seeks to reach herd immunity against Covid-19. Indonesia’s ultimate goal is to inoculate more than 180 million people across the world’s largest archipelago.

Iran

Iranian health authorities said on Wednesday that 112 people infected with the mutant variant of coronavirus have been identified in the country.

"So far, eight people in the country have died from the mutant virus," said Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the Iranian national headquarters fighting COVID-19.

The symptoms of the new variant are the same as the common novel coronavirus, but its contagiousness and pathogenicity are higher, he said.

Raisi warned against the possibility of the spread of the mutant variant in the country, urging people to follow the health protocols carefully.

Iran's health ministry reported 8,270 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,598,875.

The pandemic has so far claimed 59,736 lives in Iran, up by 73 in the past 24 hours. Of the newly infected, 746 were hospitalized, said Lari.

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Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday 4,306 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record in 2021, raising the total nationwide number to 680,288.

It also reported 13 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,324, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,110 to 625,447.

Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi said at a press conference marking the first anniversary of detecting the first case of COVID-19 in Iraq that the ministry has "finished all preparations to receive the vaccines that will arrive soon." 

Japan

Japan said it will begin vaccinating people age 65 and over with the Pfizer/BioNTech shot starting April 12, after the nation kicked off its inoculation drive last week. 

It aims to vaccinate and observe around 40,000 healthcare workers before expanding coverage. About 17,900 people had received the first dose of the vaccine as of Thursday. Supply may limit doses initially, with the country expected to receive its third shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on March 1.

Jordan

Jordan on Wednesday decided to reinstate curfew on each Friday in addition to extending daily curfew by two hours as part of anti-pandemic measures as infections keep rising in the kingdom.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Al Ayed announced that businesses are allowed to operate until 9 p.m. local time while public movement will be permitted from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. as of Thursday.

The authority on religious affairs said worshippers will be allowed to go to mosques on Friday on foot.

Health Minister Nathir Obeidat said that the number of coronavirus cases has been on the rise for three weeks, adding that the new measures were reinstated to curb the spread of the virus.

Vials of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by China's Sinovac firm, are displayed in Bangkok on February 24, 2021, as the first batch of vaccines to battle the COVID-19 coronavirus arrive in the kingdom. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Kuwait

Kuwait reported on Wednesday 1,001 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 187,005.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced five more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,062. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait rose by 960 to 175,048, while 10,895 coronavirus-related patients were receiving treatment.

Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for medical affairs in the ministry, said on Wednesday that a new batch of coronavirus vaccines will arrive on Feb. 28.

Kuwait is keen on battling the coronavirus spread by reinforcing its national vaccination campaign, Al-Bader said.

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Lebanon

Lebanon recorded on Wednesday 3,513 new COVID-19 cases, raising the number of infections to 362,833, the Health Ministry reported.

Meanwhile, death toll from the virus went up by 62 to 4,508.

Jacques Mokhbat, member of the national committee for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, said on Wednesday that only 29,000 people in Lebanon have been vaccinated so far.

"If the process remains that slow, we will not be able to reach herd immunity before 2027," he said.

On Feb. 14, Lebanon started its vaccination campaign with employees in the health sector and the elderly above 75 years old.

Malaysia

Malaysia said it expects to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Covax Facility in stages beginning March, upon approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency. 

Malaysia has secured enough of the shots to inoculate 10 percent  of the population, with another 10 percent secured directly with the producer. The country started its vaccination program on Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin the first to receive the shot.

Mongolia 

Mongolia registered 46 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 2,801, the National Center for Communicable Diseases said Thursday.

The latest confirmed cases were locally transmitted and detected in the country's capital Ulan Bator, which is the hardest hit by the outbreak, the center said in a statement.

Myanmar

The number of COVID-19 cases rose to 141,816 in Myanmar on Wednesday, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry.

Myanmar reported 33 new COVID-19 cases and no death in the past 24 hours, the ministry's said.

A total of 141,405 recovered patients have been discharged from hospitals so far, and 1,112 samples were tested on Wednesday, down from around 10,000 samples tested daily in the first week of this month.

COVID-19 was first detected in Myanmar on March 23 last year. 

Nepal

Over 400,000 Nepali people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 under the first phase of a vaccination drive, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population said.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the ministry said a total of 429,705 people who were under the first priority list, were inoculated first doses of vaccine in the first phase.

"The second doses will be inoculated eight weeks after the first doses were inoculated," Dr. Shyam Raj Upreti, coordinator of the COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee under the health ministry, told Xinhua on Thursday.

The first phase of the vaccination drive had begun on Jan. 27 and ended on Monday.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported three cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation on Thursday, with no new cases linked to the Auckland cluster this month.

All 11 cases associated with the Auckland cluster remain in the Auckland quarantine facility, said a health ministry statement.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 65, and the total number of confirmed cases is 2,012, it said.  

Pakistan

The South Asian nation has relaxed restrictions by opening cinemas and allowing weddings and dining in restaurants from March 15. 

It has also increased capacity to 50 percent for ongoing cricket matches, and full capacity for the final few playoff matches. The nation’s virus cases have gradually dwindled after a peak in December.

Palestine

Palestine has been facing a new wave of COVID-19 pandemic following a sharp increase of infections in the West Bank, according to a minister on Wednesday.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the Palestinian territories "are witnessing a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases."

Palestine reported five fatalities, 1,391 new COVID-19 cases, and 1,038 recoveries in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem for the past 24 hours.

According to the report, coronavirus in the Palestinian territories has claimed the lives of 2,205 Palestinians, and a total of 201,160 were infected since March last year.

Al-Kaila said the occupancy rate of ventilators in public hospitals to treat coronavirus cases has reached 48 percent, the highest since the outbreak of the disease in the Palestinian territories.

Singapore

Singapore received its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech on Tuesday, its health ministry said, although the shot is still awaiting approval for use in the city-state.

Sinovac has started submitting initial data but the Health Sciences Authority is currently awaiting all the necessary information to carry out a thorough assessment, the ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Sinovac’s vaccine has been found to have an efficacy rate ranging from about 50 percent to 90 percent in studies.

The city-state have been rolling out its COVID-19 vaccination programme over the last two months. It has approved shots from Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna.

The government has previously declined to give specific details on the deals struck with vaccine makers.

South Korea

South Korean politicians won’t be the first in line when the county kicks off its coronavirus vaccination drive on Friday, despite calls from the opposition party for the president to roll up his sleeve and take a shot to reassure vaccine sceptics.

South Korea reported 396 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 88,516.

The daily caseload was down from 440 in the previous day, but it hovered above 100 since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

Of the new cases, 114 were Seoul residents and 132 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

South Korea reported 14 more cases of COVID-19 variants in recent days, bringing the total number of such cases to 142, the health authorities said Thursday.

Twelve more US soldiers and two civilians in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.

The USFK said in a statement that 14 USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with the COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between Feb. 3 and 22.

Thailand

Thai authorities are preparing a plan to ease restrictions for travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus, senior officials said on Wednesday, as the country looks to revive a tourism industry battered by travel curbs.

Measures for vaccinated visitors would be introduced step-by-step and could include shortening the mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from two weeks to three days for those vaccinated, or waiving it entirely, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor (TAT) Yuthasak Supasorn said.

“We have to be fast because we want to start welcoming tourists in the third quarter,” he told Reuters.

The TAT plans to begin selling tour packages after April.

The tourism ministry has also requested 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for tourism workers in Chon Buri, Krabi, Phang Nga, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Thailand on Thursday confirmed 72 new COVID-19 cases, mostly domestic, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan.

The Philippines

The Philippines will let thousands of its healthcare workers, mostly nurses, take up jobs in Britain and Germany if the two countries agree to donate much-needed coronavirus vaccines, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The 600,000 doses of Sinovac-made vaccine CoronaVac donated by China will arrive in the Philippines on Sunday, the Chinese embassy said on Thursday.

The Philippines, which has among Asia’s highest number of coronavirus cases, has relaxed a ban on deploying its healthcare workers overseas, but still limits the number of medical professionals leaving the country to 5,000 a year.

The Philippines is offering to pay more to get earlier coronavirus vaccine deliveries, hoping to avert a supply crunch this quarter as the bulk of its orders this year will only come in the second half.

Only 5.1 million of the 161 million doses expected for the year will arrive in the country this quarter, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said at a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. The first shipments will be Sinovac Biotech Ltd. vaccines donated by China, as well as those from the COVAX Facility, which supplies shots to poor nations. These will be followed by 24.1 million shots in the second quarter.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Thursday 2,269 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 568,680.

The death toll climbed to 12,201 after 72 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. It added 738 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 524,042.

Turkey

Turkey has started Wednesday the vaccination of teachers against COVID-19 as the country is poised to resume in-person education.

Turkish Education Minister Ziya Selcuk received his first dose in a ceremony held in the Central Anatolia province of Corum.

A list including 1.25 million teachers, who will be on duty for resumed classes, was submitted to the health ministry for vaccination, Selcuk said.

Turkey gradually starts face-to-face schooling, as primary schools in villages opened on Feb. 15 and the rest of the primary classes, along with students in eighth and 12th grades, will resume on March 1.

Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 9,561 new COVID-19 cases, including 660 symptomatic patients, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,665,194.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 72 to 28,285, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,540,293 after 5,297 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours, according to the Turkish health ministry.

Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 6,463,000 people have been vaccinated so far.