Coronavirus: Singapore probes boy’s collapse after vaccine jab; Indonesia gasps for oxygen amid outages
- A Singapore teenager suffered a suspected cardiac arrest following a strenuous gym workout days after his first Pfizer-BioNTech jab, officials say
- Meanwhile, Indonesia has urged for oxygen supplies to be sent to hospitals overflowing with Covid-19 patients as fresh cases and deaths hit new records
The move came as the Ministry of Health was probing the collapse of a 16-year-old boy six days after his first Pfizer-BioNTech jab, just after a strenuous gym workout.
He was in critical condition at the National University Hospital after a suspected cardiac arrest.
‘Covid-19 may never go away’: Singapore looks to live with virus as endemic
Previously, on June 11, the committee had stated that adolescents and younger men should avoid strenuous physical activity for a week after their second dose of the mRNA vaccines. The earlier advice did not relate to the first dose.
This change had come about due to the “small but nevertheless statistically significant risk” of myocarditis and pericarditis, types of heart inflammation, observed after vaccination with both the first and second mRNA vaccines, the expert committee added in a statement on Monday. Both the committee and the ministry, in a separate release, also noted the case of the 16-year-old.
The boy received his first dose on June 27. On Saturday, he worked out with heavy weights above his own body weight prior to what has been preliminarily diagnosed as a cardiac arrest.
In updating its advice, the expert committee cited a Health Sciences Authority (HSA) update on Monday which said that as of June 30, the authority had received 12 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis occurring in individuals following their vaccinations with mRNA vaccines.
Of the 12 cases, seven of them involved men aged under 30, which was “higher than expected for this age group based on background incidence rates”.
While most of the cases reported had occurred after the second dose, HSA had also begun to receive reports of some cases that occurred after the first dose.
Why Singaporeans are lining up for Sinovac jabs despite efficacy concerns
Giving more details on the case, the ministry of health said the teenager was “assessed by trained healthcare personnel to be suitable for Covid-19 vaccination, observed on-site for about 30 minutes post-vaccination and was well”.
“He was also well for the following five days after vaccination. Prior to his collapse on July 3, he did weight lifting at the gym. MOH understands that he trains with very heavy weights which were above his body weight,” the statement said.
The expert committee said that while most people with vaccine-related myocarditis, both locally and internationally, have mild symptoms and make an uneventful recovery, “it is possible that the condition may be aggravated by factors or strenuous activities that may affect the heart”.
Individuals who are vaccinated are also advised to seek medical attention promptly if they develop chest pain, shortness of breath or abnormal heartbeats, the committee added.
03:55
Thailand’s Phuket island reopens for vaccinated tourists under quarantine-free ‘sandbox’ scheme
Indonesia runs out of oxygen
Indonesia on Monday called for the nation’s oxygen supplies to be sent to hospitals overflowing with coronavirus patients as fresh cases and deaths hit new records.
Oxygen producers had been told to allocate their stocks to the medical sector as the country is battered by an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, said senior minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
“We have enough oxygen supply, but demand is up three-to-four fold so there have been distribution gridlocks,” he said. “There’s supply from five oxygen producers and we’ve asked them to allocate 100 per cent of their oxygen to the health sector.”
Southeast Asia’s worst-hit nation may turn to imports if supplies dry up, he added.
Indonesia defends use of China’s Sinovac amid surge in Delta variant
Apart from hospitals, the steel and mining industries are major buyers of mineral-rich Indonesia’s oxygen supplies.
An emergency refilling station was set up in central Jakarta, while rickshaw drivers in the city of Bandung delivered tanks to homes where virus patients were isolating.
On Monday, the country reported 29,745 new infections and 558 deaths, both daily records, after the government last week ordered fresh virus curbs in the hard-hit capital Jakarta, across Java and on holiday island Bali.
01:56
Seniors hit the dance floor again as South Korea lifts Covid-19 social-distancing rules
Leaked memo raises Thai concern about efficacy of Sinovac jab
The internal memo, which included various opinions, was reported by local media and shared widely on social media. It was confirmed by Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul as being authentic.
It included a comment from an unnamed official who recommended authorities not to give a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine to front-line health workers, because such a move would be “admitting that the Sinovac vaccine is not effective”.
K-pop fans come to rescue of Thailand’s struggling tuk tuk drivers
Thailand has administered Sinovac’s inactivated virus vaccine to most health workers and its real-world study showed two doses were 95 per cent effective in reducing mortality and severe symptoms. The study showed it was 71 per cent to 91 per cent effective in stopping infection with the Alpha variant.
The comment in the leaked document prompted calls from prominent Thai health experts, including a top medical council official, to give health workers a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot.
The hashtag “Give Pfizer to medical personnel” was trending on Thai Twitter with more than 624,000 tweets on Monday.
It is relying mainly on AstraZeneca’s locally manufactured viral vector vaccine, while authorities say Moderna’s mRNA vaccine will also be available.
Thailand has procured 20 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for future delivery and will this month receive 1.5 million doses donated by the US.
On Monday, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha began seven days of self-isolation on Monday after having had close contact with somebody who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the government.
Prayut’s self-isolation will end next Sunday since he had already been fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Vietnam records over 1,000 daily cases for first time
Vietnam on Monday recorded 1,089 cases of coronavirus, a record daily tally for the country and the first time cases have reached over a thousand since the start of the pandemic.
Ho Chi Minh City, which is under strict virus prevention and social distancing protocols, has emerged as the country’s virus epicentre.
The vast majority of new cases have been recorded in the southern metropolis, Health Ministry data showed.
As Delta spreads in Asia, anti-parasitic drug ivermectin is hot property
Vietnam has been praised internationally for its response to the pandemic, but after a month without any community transmission of the virus, local cases emerged again on April 27 and over 10,000 have been reported since.
The country has vaccinated less than 4 million of its total population of 98 million people.
Vietnam said it expects to receive 120 million vaccine doses in 2021, nearly 39 million of which will be provided through the World Health Organization‘s COVAX initiative.
The Health Ministry also said on Monday that 90,000 Pfizer Covid-19 doses, the first sent to the country, would reach Vietnam on Wednesday.
‘Absolutely critical’ two days for Australia’s New South Wales
With more than 5 million Sydney residents under strict stay-at-home orders, total infections in the latest outbreak have topped 300. New South Wales reported 35 locally acquired cases on Monday, matching the biggest daily rise in infections so far this year, recorded two days ago.
“We expect the case numbers of people in isolation to keep going up,” state premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. “What we are really looking at are the number of people who have still been infectious in the community and what impact that will have in the next few days.”
Of Monday’s cases, 28 were either in isolation throughout or for part of their infectious period. Seven cases spent time in the community while they were infectious. “The next couple of days will be absolutely critical,” Berejiklian said.
Fiji’s main mortuary fills up amid surge in cases
There were no immediate details on the capacity of the morgue, though 28 people have died from Covid-19 in a second wave of infections starting in April, the ministry said on Sunday.
The Colonial War Memorial Hospital is the sole public hospital in the capital of Suva and its facilities are now devoted to caring for Covid-19 patients.
“Due to the mortuary now being utilised to full capacity, the concerned relatives are kindly requested to make immediate arrangements for the uplifting of the deceased from the mortuary, and the performance of final funeral rites for your loved ones,” the ministry said in a statement.
Pacific Islands look to US, Australia, New Zealand for Covid-19 vaccines
About 54 per cent of Fijians have received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca or Sinopharm vaccines, according to official data, while almost 9 per cent have received a second.
Papua New Guinea is also battling a jump in infections.
Reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa
