Compiled by C. ARUNO and IYLIA MARSYA ISKANDAR
SHANGHAI’S new inhalable Covid-19 vaccine tastes like milk tea, according to its first batch of recipients, reported Sin Chew Daily.
The Chinese city began administering an inhalable Covid-19 vaccine on Oct 26, in what appears to be a world first.
The vaccine, a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously vaccinated people, according to an announcement on an official city social media account.
According to a local resident who wanted to only be known as Chen, he was given a nozzle of a translucent white cup and was told to take a deep breath and hold his breath for five seconds.
The entire process took less than 20 seconds.
“It’s like drinking milk tea. It tastes sweet once inhaled. I hope this vaccine will be more effective at stopping the virus from spreading,” he said.
The new vaccine is available as a booster to those who had been vaccinated more than six months ago.
The inhalable vaccine was approved by Chinese authorities in September and is manufactured by CanSino Biologics.
> The sister of actress Jacqueline Wong, who was caught in a cheating scandal with married singer Andy Hui, refused to answer if her younger sibling will make a comeback to the entertainment industry, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Scarlett Wong, who is also an actress, said the decision was Jacqueline’s to make.
“She has to deal with her own issues. I do not need to give her my opinion. It is a road she has to walk alone and I dare not interfere.
“What I can do is to stand by her side and support her in the background,” she said.
It was earlier reported that Jacqueline was seen kissing Hui, who was married to singer Sammi Cheng, in April 2019. The scandal grabbed headlines across Hong Kong press for several months.
> HONG Kong broadcasting company TVB is being dragged into another blackface controversy after its actors were seen to have painted their face black for a TV drama, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Aired on Oct 24, the episode of Come Home Love contained a scene where the actors dressed in suits and wearing blackface were seen carrying a coffin and dancing to a tune.
The scene was meant to be a parody of the Dancing Pallbearers, a group of Ghanaian pallbearers who shot to global stardom with their performances at funerals in 2017, despite none of the actors from TVB being of African descent.
TVB released a statement on Wednesday claiming the actors were meant to portray someone whose “face had been dirtied by soot from cars” rather than a person of another race.
“Our station did not intend to disrespect or discriminate against anyone,” the statement read.
However, the statement did not contain an apology or an explanation as to whether the scene was a parody of the Dancing Pallbearers.
Earlier in April, TVB was criticised after an actress from the series Barrack O’Karma 1968 darkened her face to portray a domestic helper from the Philippines.
The company later apologised and removed the episode following protests from the large Philippine population in Hong Kong.
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person.
It is considered highly offensive, disrespectful, and racist by the turn of the 21st century,
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
