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Humanitarian efforts to assist Tonga after a volcanic eruption are being complicated by the South Pacific nation’s determination to keep Covid-19 at bay. ... The Tongan government is expected to formally request assistance from the international community on Tuesday once the full extent of the disaster, which has claimed at least one life, has been assessed. But the government has also stressed the need to retain its virtually Covid-free status. Tonga was one of the last countries in the world to record a case of Covid-19 after a traveler from New Zealand tested positive while in quarantine in October, triggering a national lockdown. It remains the only confirmed case in the country. (Fildes, 1/18)

Throughout Polynesia, a region of around 1,000 islands spread across the Southern Pacific, disease delivered by outsiders is a theme that runs through hundreds of years of history. Regular contact with Europe’s colonizing forces came relatively late to places like Tonga, but with devastating impact. Epidemics of measles, dysentery and influenza, carried in by Europeans, devastated island communities all over the South Pacific. (Cave, 1/18)

The World Health Organization said Sunday that a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone “is only a reminder of the work that remains” after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. A shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rwanda on Saturday included the billionth dose supplied via the COVAX program, the U.N. health agency said. (1/16)

If the Food and Drug Administration decides to update Covid-19 vaccines to take better aim at Omicron or other variants, it is unlikely to go it alone. Instead, a senior FDA official told STAT, the agency expects to take part in an internationally coordinated program aimed at deciding if, when, and how to update Covid-19 vaccines. The approach would ensure decisions are not left solely to individual vaccine manufacturers. (Branswell, 1/18)

Thailand’s Baiya Phytopharm wants to develop the country’s first plant-based Covid vaccine. The start-up, founded by Dr. Suthira Taychakhoonavudh and Dr. Waranyoo Phoolcharoen in 2018, has been working on a vaccine using the leaves of an Australian tobacco plant. Suthira, a 37-year-old lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, told CNBC’s “Managing Asia” that she and her team of scientists want to “make a difference” in changing Thailand from a vaccine importer to a vaccine maker. (Tan, 1/17)

Facing a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, Abu Dhabi is requiring people entering the city to show proof of booster shots. The government’s health app said earlier this week that people entering the capital of the United Arab Emirates must show a “green pass,” confirming their vaccination status. The app says that visitors are no longer considered fully vaccinated unless they have received a booster at least six months after their second dose. (1/18)

Greece imposed a vaccination mandate Monday for people 60 and older as a spike in infections has put sustained pressure on Greek hospitals, where most of the seriously ill patients belong to that age group. Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of 100 euros ($114) after that. (Gatopoulos, 1/17)

Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will cull some 2,000 hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for the virus at a pet store where an infected employee was working. Officials said they would also stop the sale and import of the rodents in the city. The move came after the pet shop employee tested positive for the delta variant on Monday. Several of the hamsters tested positive for the coronavirus as well. (Soo, 1/18)

Lions and pumas at a zoo in the South African capital of Pretoria got severe Covid-19 from asymptomatic zoo handlers, raising concerns that new variants could emerge from animal reservoirs of the disease, studies carried out by a local university showed. A 2020 study of feces from two pumas that had had diarrhea, nasal discharge and anorexia showed the animals had Covid-19 and made a full recovery after 23 days, the University of Pretoria said in a statement on Tuesday. A year later, in the midst of South Africa’s delta-variant-driven third wave, three lions, one of which had pneumonia, tested positive for the coronavirus. (Sguazzin and Bonorchis, 1/18)