MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 1.277 million, over 51.7 million cases of infection were detected, and over 33.7 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 19:30 GMT Wednesday, the number of cases globally is 51,788,782, including 1,277,717 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 10,313.369, including 240,265 fatalities and 3,961,873 recoveries.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) goal is having every country around the globe being able to immunize 20 percent of the population against the coronavirus next year, Kate O'Brien, the director of the WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, said.
WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan noted the need for more data on COVID-19 vaccine trials amid positive news about the the Pfizer vaccine candidate. Vaccine platforms using the mRNA and DNA technology, if they end up successful against COVID-19, will enhance the global preparedness for future pandemics, Swaminathan also said.
Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V has demonstrated 92 percent efficacy based on the first interim analysis that was obtained 21 days after volunteers received the first injection, according to the press release published in the official Twitter account of the vaccine.
Russia plans to produce 500,000 doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine this month, to bring production to 1.5 million doses in January and to have as many as 6 million doses monthly starting April, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.
The entire amount of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V was procured by the state, it is not for sale in retail, Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Istitute, which developed the vaccine, said.
Alexey Kuznetsov, an aide to the Russian health minister, explained to Sputnik that those inoculated against the coronavirus could still contract the disease because of failing to produce antibodies, since a person can be considered protected only three weeks after receiving the second component of the vaccine.
Fifteen foreign ambassadors were presented the Russian coronavirus vaccines Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona during a virtual event hosted by the Diplomatic academy in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia maintains a close cooperation with all the member countries of BRICS, India and Brazil in particular, on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
The Danish parliament's financial committee approved allocation of 18.8 million kroner ($2.93 million) for initial trials on humans of a locally-developed coronavirus vaccine, the Danish Health Ministry said.
Trials of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine Coronavac in Brazil have been resumed, health watchdog Anvisa said. Previously, Anvisa temporarily halted testing of the Coronavac vaccine from the Sinovac laboratory in connection with a "serious incident" due to the death of one of the volunteers. According to media reports, it could be about suicide.
Germany expects to get 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine as part of the 300 million dose deal that the European Union is signing with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech, the spokesman for the German Health Ministry said.
People over the age of 65 and health workers will be the first to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease in Spain once the country obtains the doses of Pfizer vaccine in early 2021, Spanish news agency Vanguardia reported citing sources close to the team who prepare vaccine strategy.
Switzerland has allotted additional 100 million Swiss francs ($109 million) for its fund earmarked to be spent on purchase of coronavirus vaccines, the government said.
Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector has discovered more than 15 compounds with pronounced antiviral activity, which are promising for the creation of drugs for treatment of the coronavirus infection, Russian public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor told Sputnik.
To date, mutations have been detected in less than one percent of coronavirus genome, deputy director of a research institute at a Russian public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor Alexander Gorelov said.
Two Christmas markets will open in the Swiss capital of Bern in late November, but the city authorities have banned the sale of food and drinks, including traditional mulled wine, due to anti-coronavirus measures, the city's authorities said.
Restaurateurs have held rallies across Ukraine, including the capital of Kiev and other big cities, to protest the government's plans to introduce a "weekend lockdown," the Ukraina 24 channel reported.
The Mongolian authorities are closing the border crossing points with Russia and introducing a three-day quarantine regime in the capital of Ulaanbaatar after the detection of coronavirus from a truck driver who entered the country from Russian territory, state media reported.
Japan is considering exempting overseas visitors for the 2021 summer Olympics and Paralympics from the 14-day quarantine should it allow foreigners to attend the event, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing government sources.
The Russian economy will shake off the worst of the coronavirus impact this year or early next year, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said.
The fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Germany has had an impact on patients suffering from depression, with one in two patients having their treatment appointments canceled during the lockdown, Heike Friedewald, a representative of the German foundation for research and education on depression Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe, told Sputnik.
The Daily Mail newspaper, in collaboration with business technology platform Tide and the Federation of Small Businesses, all based in the United Kingdom, have launched a new fund-raising initiative to provide support to small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
