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Gearing up for the much needed Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization on Wednesday convened a meeting of vaccine manufacturers and national regulatory authorities from its South-East Asia Region. "The manufacturing capacity that exists in our Region is of the quality and scale required to produce and roll-out a Covid-19 vaccine globally. This Region is a vaccine manufacturing powerhouse, and it must now also play a lead role in overcoming the ongoing pandemic,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia. At the virtual meeting, leading manufacturers from India, Indonesia, and Thailand discussed timelines and production capacity, while regulatory bodies deliberated on adjustments that would be needed in processes to make Covid-19 vaccines availab

Senior Grab leaders are reducing salaries by up to 20 percent this year Coronavirus pandemic the single biggest crisis to affect the eight-year-old company SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said on Thursday it is offering some staff unpaid leave and senior executives are taking salary cuts as it moves to conserve cash amid falling demand because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. “Senior Grab leaders are reducing salaries by up to 20 percent this year and we have given employees across the region, in teams where there is excess capacity — the option to take flexible working arrangements,” Grab, the region’s most valuable start-up, said in a statement.It said such arrangements could include no-pay leave, reduced working hours and sabbaticals. Grab said the steps

WHO convenes meeting of vaccine manufacturers

Southeast Asia’s Grab offers staff no-pay leave as coronavirus saps demand

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