Vietnam approves Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine as daily cases hit record

Vietnam on Thursday approved Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday for emergency use, as the country tries to boost supplies at a time of record numbers of new infections. The approval of the vaccine, the sixth brand to be endorsed in the Southeast Asian country, is part of Vietnam's efforts to expedite its inoculations programme amid its worst outbreak so far. Vietnam reported a record 3,416 new cases on Thursday, its biggest daily increase and above Wednesday's record high of 2,934. Most of those are in Ho Chi Minh City, the epicentre, which has been under stricter movement curbs since last week.