MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 2.447 million, over 110.5 million cases of infection were detected, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 20:20 GMT Friday, the number of cases globally is 110,547,030, including 2,447,615 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 27,938,267, including 494,614 fatalities.
San Marino became the 30th country to register Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said. San Marino will receive the first batch of Sputnik V in the next few days, the Southern European microstate's ministries of health and foreign affairs announced.
Reports about the incorrect filing of the application for the Sputnik V vaccine to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) do not correspond to reality, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is working with it to start a review, the vaccine's Twitter account said.
Russia may start delivering its coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V to the African Union in May, with the bulk of supplies set to start in June, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev told Sputnik.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that all the foreign embassies accredited in the country had been invited to vaccinate staffers against COVID-19. Staffers in the Moldovan and Cuban embassies in Moscow will actively participate in Russia's mass vaccination campaign by receiving Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine shots, diplomats from both embassies told Sputnik.
Several Moscow-stationed Mexican diplomats have already been injected with the first dose of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine after receiving an offer from the Russian Foreign Ministry to join the local immunization campaign, Fernando Escudero, the spokesman for Mexico's embassy, told Sputnik.
US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan told RIA Novosti that he and other diplomats and staff at the US embassy would use whatever vaccine the US State Department sends.
The German Embassy in Moscow has confirmed receiving Russia's invitation for its staffers and their families to receive the homegrown Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, adding that it is up to employees to decide whether to get injected.
Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced it had requested emergency use authorization for Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that the country would launch the production of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in about six months.
The first batch of doses of Russia's Sputnik V has arrived in Paraguay, media reported.
Germany has decided to appoint a special representative for ensuring availability of coronavirus vaccines for the citizens, Der Spiegel reported.
The United States does not consider it possible to share its coronavirus vaccine stockpile with others, including low-income countries, before all Americans receive vaccine shots, Politico reported, citing a White House official.
US government infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that it will probably take several months to develop a vaccine for the South African variant of the novel coronavirus.
The United States is experiencing a backlog of six million COVID-19 vaccines after severe storms delayed delivery, although nearly a quarter of those doses should reach their destination by next week, White House coronavirus response adviser Andy Slavitt said.
The Tel Aviv Mayor's Office has launched a free coronavirus vaccination campaign together with the Sourasky Medical Center, also known as the Ichilov Hospital, for asylum seekers and migrant workers, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the creator of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, has not yet obtained samples of the coronavirus strains originating in South Africa, lead researcher Fyodor Lisitsyn said.
The world has slowly started to gain an upper hand in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and more lives are being saved and effective tools created, but there is still a long way to go, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
Russia registered 13,433 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, slightly down from 13,447 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,139,031, the coronavirus response center said.
Starting Monday, Czech citizens will be required to wear respirators or two surgical masks in public places, such as in shops, on public transportation and in hospitals, amid a surge in cases involving the UK strain of coronavirus, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek told reporters.
Stronger restrictive measures are needed to control the spread of the new, more contagious coronavirus variants, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said during a press briefing.
World Health Organization (WHO) experts investigating the pandemic's origins suggest that ferret badgers and rabbits, which were sold at a Wuhan market in China, could have played a role in spreading the novel coronavirus to humans, The Wall Street Journal reported.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday that the country may see a deficit of rapid COVID-19 tests beginning on March 1, which is when free distribution among the population starts, but that high demand is a positive sign of public engagement.
