The US is currently the worst-hit nation amid the pandemic, with around 24 million infected, and at least 397,000 deaths. India has the second-highest overall tally (10.55 million cases, over 152,000 fatalities) and Brazil has the second-highest death toll (more than 209,000 deaths, while over 8.4 million cases have been confirmed).
At the same time, multiple nations are conducting mass vaccination campaigns to stop the deadly pandemic.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Pakistan has approved the emergency use of the coronavirus vaccine by Chinese company Sinopharm, according to a statement by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).
"In a meeting conducted by Registration Board of DRAP today January 18, 2021, another vaccine manufactured by China National Pharmaceutical Group (SinoPharm) has also been given EUA [emergency use authoritzation]," DRAP said.
"This authorization will be reviewed on quarterly basis keeping in view further data regarding safety, efficacy and quality," it said.
CAIRO (Sputnik) - The first case of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant that originated in the UK has been registered in Morocco, the country’s health ministry has announced.
"... the Ministry of Health informs all citizens that the epidemiological monitoring system recorded the first confirmed case of the mutated strain of the coronavirus recently discovered in the United Kingdom," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the release, the patient is a Moroccan citizen who has arrived from Ireland on board a ship that had set off from the port of Marseille (France).
"The Ministry informs that the person concerned is not showing any symptoms, and is currently in isolation in Casablanca," the health ministry said.
All the necessary contact tracing has been carried out in accordance with the Moroccan health protocol.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Outgoing US President Donald Trump will cancel entry bans over COVID-19 for the majority of non-US citizens who recently visited Brazil and many European countries starting January 26, Reuters reported citing officials.
There has been no immediate comment from the White House.
BELGRADE (Sputnik) - 40% of Serbians who applied for vaccination through the internet or a call center have decided to receive the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Serbian Health Ministry State Secretary Mirsad Derlek said on Monday.
On January 16, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the country expected to receive an additional 250,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine on Tuesday. According to Vucic, Serbia would vaccinate 80 percent of its seven million population with vaccines developed by different pharmaceutical companies.
"As of today, 28 percent are in favor of receiving Pfizer vaccine, 40 percent have chosen Sputnik V, the others do not care which one [to choose]," Derlek said during a television appearance.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The European Union needs to accelerate the process of mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus, as well as that of vaccine deliveries, Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission in charge of the Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said on Monday.
The bloc has secured so far almost 2.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the broadest portfolio in the world, that will allow more than 1 billion people in Europe to be vaccinated. However, according to the senior EU official, there is a large gap between the supplies and the number of those who already received injections.
"We, first, need to accelerate the vaccination and vaccine supplies, because vaccines on their own achieve nothing," Sefcovic said at a press conference.
According to the vice-president, the EU needs to ramp up the supply of vaccines by working with companies to maximize production capacity within the bloc. In particular, the member states can invest in new manufacturing plants, securing agreements with producers to repurpose their companies.
Commenting on the possible introduction of vaccination certificates, the official said that the bloc did not intend to create a situation in which EU residents who were not vaccinated against the coronavirus would face curbs on their rights and freedoms. The aim is to gather data to use it for medical purposes, to assess the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines.
"Vaccination is voluntary. We will have, I am sure, a lot of people who, for example, cannot be vaccinated because of medical purposes, even some of them just simply would not like to be vaccinated. And, therefore, we are taking all the precautions that we would not create any ground for different treatment of these people, or any kind of limitations of their rights," Sefcovic added.
Last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed to introduce a standardized EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate. The idea to standardize the certificate aims at facilitating free movement and travel across the bloc. The initiative is set to be discussed during a virtual conference of 27 EU leaders on COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Norwegian Medicines Agency on Monday commented on the death of 23 people inoculated with Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines by saying that elderly and frail patients should carefully consider the risk-benefit ratio before vaccination.
According to the agency, 23 reports of suspected deaths associated with COVID-19 vaccines were received as of January 14 and several more continue to be submitted every day.
"The Norwegian Medicines Agency and the National Institute of Public Health jointly assess all reports of suspected adverse reactions. Consequently, the Norwegian Institute of Public health has emphasised its advice regarding frail or terminally ill patients. An evaluation should be carried for each individual patient as to whether the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of eventual side effects," the agency said in a press release.
Pointing out that the Pfizer vaccine's clinical trials did not include participants with serious health conditions and included only a few participants aged above 85, the agency said Norway's vaccination campaign so far covered "the elderly and people in nursing homes with serious underlying diseases."
"Therefore it is expected that deaths close to the time vaccination may occur," the agency said, adding "We cannot rule out that adverse reactions to the vaccine occurring within the first days following vaccination (such as fever and nausea) may contribute to more serious course and fatal outcome in patients with severe underlying disease."
The agency also noted that the average weekly death toll in Norwegian nursing homes and long-term care facilities was 400 people.
Norway's mass vaccination campaign with the Pfizer vaccine began on December 27. With the first tier including seniors at care facilities in Oslo, more than 25,000 people were already vaccinated as of Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A newborn in the Bulgarian city of Pazardzhik was found to have antibodies to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, media reported on Monday.
The baby’s mother had earlier been admitted to a city hospital with COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever and coughing, according to public outlet Radio Bulgaria. She tested positive for the coronavirus.
Doctors performed a caesarian section after it was found that the illness had caused placental changes and fetal growth was affected. The baby is in good health and will continue to be monitored after discharge.
In November, a woman in Singapore gave birth to a child with antibodies after having survived COVID-19 in March.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Turkmenistan has become the first Central Asian country to register Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, the approval was granted by the Turkmen Health Ministry under the emergency use authorization procedure, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Monday.
"Turkmenistan became the first country in Central Asia to officially approve the use of the Sputnik V vaccine. Our partners highly appreciated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which is one of the world's leading vaccines against coronavirus," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said, as quoted in the statement.
Russia's vaccine has been registered under the same procedure in Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Palestine, Paraguay and Venezuela, according to RDIF.
Sputnik V is the world's first coronavirus vaccine officially registered for emergency use in Russia on August 11. In December, Russia launched large-scale coronavirus immunization. The latest interim results from Phase 3 clinical trials established the vaccine's efficacy at 91.4 percent and at 100 percent against severe cases.
Russia produces the vaccine for domestic use on its own. It has also struck agreements with a number of foreign manufactures to produce doses for exports. The RDIF is leading efforts to promote the Russian vaccine abroad.
Turkmenistan has become the first country in Central Asia to register #SputnikV vaccine. https://t.co/nAqH6QHnXV
— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) January 18, 2021
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia needs to vaccinate 60 percent of the population or roughly 68.6 million people against the coronavirus, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said Monday.
"Scientists have determined how many people need to be vaccinated, not counting those who had had [Covid-19] and children below 18. It's 60 percent of the Russian population or 68.6 million people", Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told a briefing, adding that the number could be adjusted depending the number of new cases.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Armed Forces on Monday launched the largest peacetime resilience operation in its history by setting up 80 new COVID-19 vaccination centres across Scotland, the country's Ministry of Defence said.
Almost 100 servicemen are expected to support the Scottish healthcare workers and the government in preparing and operationalising vaccination centers for the mass immunisation campaign in the next 28 days.
"They will use their logistical, organisational and clinical expertise to establish the vaccine centres, before handing them over to NHS Scotland to deliver their vaccination programme", the defense ministry said in a statement.
According to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, the military will help the Scottish authorities administer the initial 900,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the month.
"For us all, vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm very pleased that the expertise of the British Armed Forces is helping the Scottish Government get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible. The UK Government is supplying and paying for vaccines for the whole of the UK – it is now vital that these doses are administered as soon as possible", Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said, as quoted in the statement.
Leading scientists in virology, microbiology, genetics and biotechnology from 9 countries - Argentina, Croatia, France, Germany, India, Russia, Sweden, UK and USA - join #SputnikV International Scientific Advisory Board. #VaccinesWithoutPolitics https://t.co/Tb3Oo8X3js
— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) January 18, 2021
"I have antibodies, as I had a mild form of the coronavirus infection. Now I have learned that experts recommend vaccination even to those who have already recovered from the disease", Lavrov said at a press conference. "I learned this yesterday, I will need to consult doctors".
ZURICH (Sputnik) - Graubünden, a canton in the south-east of Switzerland, on Monday shut down the St. Moritz ski resort and put guests and staff on quarantine, after health authorities registered a surge in the spread of the mutated strain of coronavirus.
"The Graubünden health department has registered an increase in the spread of the mutated coronavirus in St. Moritz on Sunday evening. So far, about ten cases of infection were reported in two hotels. The health department has isolated two hotels and ordered COVID tests for their employees and guests, to protect the health of the population and guests", it said.
"Two highly-infectious variants of the virus have been detected in Germany, one of them is broadly represented in the United Kingdom and the other one is present in South Africa, and we also receive alarming information from Brazil ... In order to early receive full information about known and unknown mutations that are detected in Germany, to see how the virus changes in Germany and which mutations emerge here, we have made a decision to significantly support analytic effort", Spahn said.
"Not only does this me-first approach leave the world's poorest and most vulnerable at risk, it is also self-defeating", WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
LONDON (Sputnik) – The UK's National Health Service will pilot a 24-hour COVID-19 vaccination program in hospitals in London as part of the government's target to offer a vaccine jab to almost 15 million people included in the top four priority groups by mid-February, UK COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday.
"We're going to pilot the 24-hour vaccination. The NHS is going to pilot that in hospitals in London and we’d look at how to expand that", Zahawi told Sky News broadcaster.
The minister explained, however, that the "important thing" now is to protect people who are over 80 years old, and for them, the current 8 am to 8 pm vaccination times have proved to be more convenient.
"As you move down the age groups, it’d become much more convenient for people to go late at night or in the early hours, but at the moment, the challenge is obviously to supply the vaccines that need to get into the arms of the most vulnerable", he said.
"The oxygen [tanks] has been sent, the trucks... consist of six tankers with a total of 136,000 liters of oxygen equivalent to 14,000 tanks or individual cylinders", the Venezuelan President said during a speech published on his Facebook on Sunday.
"It is achievable and we are moving rapidly", Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi told the Sky News when asked to comment on Raab's statement, adding, "we've got millions of doses coming through in the next few months, of course, more of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, more of the Pfizer/BioNTech, and then Moderna, which has just been approved and will come through in the spring, and others".
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia registered 22,857 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 23,586 the day before, taking the tally to 3,591,066, the coronavirus response centre said on Monday.
"Over the past day, 22,857 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 2,504 cases (11 percent) that were detected among people showing no clinical symptoms", the centre said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 3,591,066 with the rate of increase falling to 0.6 percent.
"I would imagine within a period of a week or so, or at the most, a couple of weeks, they're going to be getting their data together and showing it to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]. Well, obviously they are going to have to get their data and safety monitoring board to look at it to see if it is appropriate to start, you know, essentially putting the package together to get an emergency use authorisation. But we're weeks away, not months away, for sure", Fauci told the NBC broadcaster in an interview late Sunday when asked how close is the US to approve Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines.
