China has authorized the emergency use of a Covid-19 vaccine for patients as young as three, health officials confirmed Tuesday. China is the first nation to offer vaccines to young children.
China has mostly managed to bring the country's outbreak under control since the virus was first detected in Wuhan in 2019. So far, China has given more than 777 million vaccine doses to its people.
In Vietnam, infections climbed to 5,876 after the Health Ministry confirmed 43 new community transmissions early Tuesday.
In Singapore, health authorities reported five new Covid-19 local cases, all linked to previous community infections. Nine imported cases were reported.
Fourteen new Covid-19 cases were reported in Singapore Monday. Overall, the number of new community infections dropped from 128 in the week before to 105 in the past week, the ministry of health said.
In the Philippines, the government said starting Tuesday, it would start immunizing around 35 million people working outside their homes - such as public transport workers, in an attempt to contain the spread of Covid-19 and open up the economy.
"This is a shot in the arm needed by our economic front-liners and our economy so the signs of recovery will continue," Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at a news briefing.
In Thailand, a mass Covid-19 vaccination drive kicked off Monday after criticism of delays and worries over health officials relying on AstraZeneca shots produced by a company owned by the country's king, CNN reported.
Thailand is looking to give 6 million shots this month using the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, the country's Public Relations Department said.
Over in Malaysia, drones that can detect high body temperatures among people in public areas are being used by the police as the country undergoes its third nationwide lockdown.
As of Monday, Malaysia had recorded 616,815 Covid-19 infections and 3,378 deaths.
Worldwide, there are 174 million Covid-19 cases with 3.74 million deaths, data for Johns Hopkins University shows.
