As Asian hot spots battle Omicron, US eyes supply of 4th vaccine doses

A handful of Asian countries that were hit later by Omicron variant surges are in different phases of their outbreaks, with South Korea seeing a possible peak.In US developments, White House officials—bracing for a possible fresh spike in infections—warned that current funding shortfalls could block the government from buying enough COVID-19 vaccine for fourth doses for the general population.High cases in Korea, Vietnam, Hong KongTwo days ago, South Korea's daily cases dipped below 300,000 for the first time in 10 days, raising hopes among health officials that the country might be nearing its peak, which is expected between Mar 25 and Apr 1, according to the Korea Herald.Today the country topped 300,000 cases again, as it started the process of gradually easing restrictions, such as raising the limit for private gatherings from six to eight.

Also, officials are watching if the BA.2 subvariant, which makes up 26.3% of South Korea's sequenced samples, will raise COVID levels.Elsewhere, China's ongoing surge continues with the highest levels in more than 2 years.

Today the country reported 4,594 new local cases, which includes 2,313 symptomatic infections. The hardest-hit area for cases continues to be Jilin Province, where most infections are in Changchun and Jilin City.Roughly a fourth of the asymptomatic cases are from Shanghai, where health officials are pressing on with block-by-block mass testing in an effort to detect and reduce the spread of the virus.Meanwhile, cases in Hong Kong appear to be declining from record daily levels in the first week of March, with 14,152 cases reported today, as Vietnam is still reporting cases at very high levels, with 131,709 more yesterday.Not enough funds for 4th US dosesWithout