Bahrain Approves Pfizer COVID Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11

A member of the Bahraini security forces checks patient monitoring equipment at the Sitra field Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital for COVID-19 patients on Sitra island. (AFP)
A member of the Bahraini security forces checks patient monitoring equipment at the Sitra field Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital for COVID-19 patients on Sitra island. (AFP)
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Bahrain Approves Pfizer COVID Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11

A member of the Bahraini security forces checks patient monitoring equipment at the Sitra field Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital for COVID-19 patients on Sitra island. (AFP)
A member of the Bahraini security forces checks patient monitoring equipment at the Sitra field Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital for COVID-19 patients on Sitra island. (AFP)

Bahrain has approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children aged between 5 and 11 years, the government media office said on Tuesday.

The decision came after a study involving 3,100 children aged between 5 and 11 were administered with the vaccine found it to be 90.7% effecting in that age group, said the statement, citing the National Health Regulatory Authority.

None of the children involved in the study showed severe side effects, it said.

Bahrain will be supplied with doses from the manufacturer for the 5-11 age group from the start of 2022, it said.



Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.