The Latest: Malaysia OKs 2 more vaccines, shots for over 12s

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Staff members wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, prepare at a lottery registration counter in a Grand Central residential building complex in Hong Kong, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. A property developer offered a HK$10.8 million (US$1.4 million) 449 square feet single-room flat as a prize in a lucky draw to boost Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccination rates. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Authorities in Malaysia have granted conditional approval to two more vaccines as they aim to achieve herd immunity to the coronavirus in the country by the end of the year.

Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said Tuesday that single dose vaccines produced by China’s CanSino Biologics and American company Johnson & Johnson were granted conditional approval for emergency use.

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Malaysia already has been using the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac. Noor Hisham said the J&J vaccine will be obtained from the global COVAX facility but didn’t give details.

Noor Hisham said the Malaysian health ministry has also given authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be given to children older than 12. Only people over 18 so far have been eligible for the government's voluntary vaccination program.

Malaysia has been under a large-scale lockdown since June 1 as it struggles to daily infections. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Tuesday that restrictions will be lifted in phases.

Malaysia has reported more than 662,000 confirmed virus cases with nearly 4,000 deaths. Less than 10% of the nation’s 32 million people have been vaccinated so far.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— White House to host July 4 “independence from virus” bash

— California, first US state to go under lockdown, is beginning its “Grand Reopening”

— Emirates Air posts $5.5B loss as virus disrupts travel

— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

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BERLIN — Germany’s health minister says the country has issued nearly 5 million vaccination certificates that are designed to be part of a European Union-wide digital pass system.

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Germany launched the rollout of the certificates late last week. Users can download proof of their coronavirus vaccination status onto a smartphone app.

Pharmacies across the country started issuing certificates on Monday to people who have been fully vaccinated and so far have only analogue proof.

The certificates can also be issued on-site by large vaccination centers. German officials say they have already been used by travelers at European borders without problems.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said as he arrived at a meeting with European Union colleagues in Luxembourg on Tuesday that 5 million certificates would be issued by the end of the day.

As of Monday, 22.3 million people in Germany had been fully vaccinated, 26.8% of the country’s population.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden wants to imbue America's Independence Day with new meaning this year by encouraging nationwide celebrations to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months of coronavirus pandemic disruption.

Even as the U.S. is set to record Tuesday its 600,000th death in the pandemic, the White House is expressing growing certainty that July 4th will serve as a breakthrough moment in the nation’s recovery. That’s even though the U.S. is not expected to quite reach its goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by the holiday.

As COVID-19 case rates and deaths drop to levels not seen since the first days of the outbreak, Biden is proclaiming “a summer of freedom” to celebrate Americans resuming their pre-pandemic lives.

The holiday will see the largest event yet of Biden’s presidency: He plans to host first responders, essential workers and military servicemembers and their families on the South Lawn for a cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall. Well more than 1,000 guests are expected, officials said, with final arrangements still to be sorted out.

Just three months ago cautiously, the president cautiously held out hope that people might be able to hold small cookouts by the Fourth of July.

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LONDON — The British government fended off calls to provide more financial support to businesses and workers who will suffer financially from its decision to delay the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England by four weeks to July 19.

Although large parts of the U.K. economy have reopened, a number of businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment sectors, have not been able to do so because it was not financially viable under restrictions that limited how many people they could serve.

After months of planning, those businesses had been preparing to reopen on June 21, the date the government had earmarked for the possible lifting of remaining restrictions on social contact.

However, a recent spike in new infections involving the more contagious delta variant that was first identified in India upended that plan.

Following the delay announcement, unions joined with business leaders to urge the government to compensate affected workers and establishments.

The Confederation of British Industry urged the government to hold back on the planned tapering of tax relief for businesses and extend the commercial rent moratorium for the industries most impacted.

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JERUSALEM — Israel is no longer requiring masks indoors, lifting one of its last coronavirus restrictions following a highly successful vaccination campaign.

The restriction was lifted on Tuesday, though people will still be required to wear masks on airplanes and on their way to quarantine. Unvaccinated individuals must wear masks in nursing homes and other long-term health facilities.

Israel has vaccinated around 85% of its adult population, allowing schools and businesses to fully reopen. There are only a few dozen active patients in the country of more than 9 million.

Authorities have been cautious about welcoming visitors, however, because of concerns over new variants. Israel welcomed its first tour group late last month. All tourists must show proof of vaccination and be tested upon arrival.

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HONOLULU — Hawaii says a vaccinated Oahu resident who traveled to Nevada last month has tested positive for the delta variant of COVID-19.

The delta variant was first detected in India and is a more transmissible version of the disease. The variant currently makes up 6% of all cases in the U.S.

Hawaii Health Director Dr. Libby Char says this is a “very rare breakthrough” case in which a COVID-19 vaccine didn’t prevent infection.

New analysis from researchers in the U.K. shows the Pfizer vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization from the delta variant.

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DECATUR, Georgia — A sheriff says a grocery store cashier has been killed in a shooting and three others wounded followed an argument over wearing face masks at an Atlanta-area supermarket.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said the shooting occurred Monday inside the Big Bear Supermarket in Decatur, a suburb east of Atlanta. Maddox said a man was arguing with a cashier over wearing a face mask when he pulled a weapon and shot the female cashier.

Authorities said a deputy working store security returned fire and shot the man. Maddox says the deputy, the suspected shooter and one other person were wounded. Decatur is a suburban community east of Atlanta.

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NEW YORK — Dozens of Holocaust survivors clapped, sang and danced Monday at a concert held in their honor, the first large gathering for New York-area survivors after months of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

The concert in Brooklyn by popular Orthodox Jewish singer Yaakov Shwekey was organized by the Nachas Health and Family Network and other groups that help the more than 35,000 Holocaust survivors estimated to live in the New York City metropolitan area.

“It’s extremely good for the soul, for the heart, to see people coming out once again and socializing,” said Dolly Rabinowitz, who sat in the front row of the Yeshivah of Flatbush auditorium joined by other Holocaust survivors and students of the Modern Orthodox Jewish school.

The survivors, most of whom are now in their 80s and 90s, suffered unspeakable horrors in concentration camps. In the past year, many remained isolated at home because they were at a high risk of contagion from the fast-spreading virus.

“To be out once again is like reviving ourselves. To sit among our children and grandchildren is heartwarming,” said Rabinowitz, who lived through Auschwitz and the death march the Nazis forced prisoners on as they tried to keep the advancing Soviet army from discovering the camp.

Many of the survivors arrived at Monday’s concert in yellow school buses.

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