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Experts of the Czech Health Ministry are studying the legal aspects of a possible direct purchase of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, bypassing the EU regulatory authorities, Seznam reported on Saturday, citing its sources.

According to the media outlet, a few day ago, employees of the Health Ministry were instructed to find out what legal opportunities exist for the Sputnik V vaccine to be approved in the republic without the corresponding approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The news outlet noted that the Health Ministry was looking for an option to authorise the vaccine without the approval of either EMA or the State Institute of Drug Control.

On Friday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis visited Budapest to study Hungary’s experience in the use of the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine. He, in particular, discussed this issue with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, and local doctors.

Babis has previously repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the sharp slowdown in shipments of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which hinders the nation's immunisation of priority groups, like frontline medical staff and people aged over 80. At the same time, he highly assessed the Russian vaccine.

After Hungary, the first EU country to start using the Russian vaccine, Babis is planning to visit Serbia, which also administers Sputnik V.

A staffer of the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has received the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to a human error, but suffered no side effects, media reported on Saturday.

According to The Straits Times, the incident occurred on 14 January during a vaccination exercise. A worker in charge of diluting the vaccine had been called away during the preparation of the vaccine, while a second staff member had mistaken the undiluted dose in the vial for the one ready for use. The error was discovered within minutes after the vaccination.

"Senior doctors were alerted immediately and the staff (member) was assessed and found to be well, with no adverse reaction or side effects", SNEC said as quoted by the media outlet.

The vaccinee was monitored at a hospital and discharged two days later. The centre continues to monitor the health of the employee, and currently he feels well.

Singapore launched the vaccination campaign on 30 December using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Medical workers are the first to receive the vaccine. The authorities expect the entire population of the country to be vaccinated by late 2021, provided the uninterrupted supply.

Myanmar becomes the 21st country to register #SputnikV.

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသည် Sputnik V ကိုမှတ်ပုံတင်ရန် ၂၁ နိုင်ငံဖြစ်လာသည်။ pic.twitter.com/SxGOOYo8WP

— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) February 6, 2021

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - A massive campaign to vaccinate over 93,000 police officers and firefighters kicked off on Saturday in the southcentral Indian state of Telangana, a Sputnik correspondent said.

The state began inoculating frontline workers in mid-January, starting with medical personnel. The state of more than 35 million plans to inoculate some 6,000 police personnel on the first day of the rollout.

State Health Minister Eatala Rajender was cited by the New Indian Express as saying on Saturday that almost all hospitals were free of coronavirus and the healthcare system was returning to normalcy.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKIY, Russia (Sputnik) - Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V shows 100 percent efficacy in preventing severe and moderate cases of the infection, Alexander Gintsburg, the head of the Gamaleya research institute that developed the vaccine, said on Saturday.

"The vaccine gives 100 percent protection against severe and moderate cases of COVID," Gintsburg told the Rossiya 1 TV channel, adding that if vaccinees contract the infection, they will develop mild symptoms in a worst-case scenario.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKIY, Russia (Sputnik) - Russia can vaccinate all its citizens willing to get a coronavirus shot by June, Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said on Saturday in an interview with the Rossiya 1 TV channel.

"You know, of course, [we are] focused on vaccinating Russians, and Russia is practically the only country in the world that can vaccinate all citizens who want to by June", Dmitriev said.

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran will kick-start the vaccine rollout by giving Sputnik V shots to medical workers this week, President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday.

"Fortunately, the first batch of the vaccine has arrived in our country. Vaccination will begin this week", Rouhani said during a COVID-19 crisis meeting.

The first batch of the Russia-made vaccine against the coronavirus arrived in Iran on Thursday. Tehran will put the first shots to use, pending more deliveries.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – India has confirmed 11,713 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 10,814,304, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.

The death toll from the disease has reached 154,918 people, with 95 new fatalities being recorded over the past day. More than 10.51 million people have recovered in India since the start of the outbreak.