TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday that his country will provide an additional US$70 million to an international framework to help developing countries secure new coronavirus vaccines.

MANILA – World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe expressed optimism that the country will receive the 44 million doses allocated by the COVAX Facility within the year with up to 9.2 million doses arriving within the first and second quarter.

TOKYO – British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Co., Ltd. submitted on Friday its application to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for the manufacturing and marketing approval of its new coronavirus vaccine.

TOKYO – Japan’s second state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic will be prolonged until March 7 as hospitals remain under strain despite the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Tuesday.