MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st 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 Saturday, the number of cases globally is 110,923,958, including 2,456,458 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 28,039,973, including 496,607 fatalities.
The CoviVac vaccine against COVID-19, developed by Russia's Chumakov research institute, was proven safe and efficient in the clinical trials, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said. CoviVac is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, people who had complications after receiving other vaccines, people exhibiting symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections, and those suffering from exacerbation of chronic diseases, according to the vaccine administration manual.
Developers of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V said that AstraZeneca could achieve maximum efficacy of its vaccine in less than a three-month interval if it uses Sputnik V as its second shot.
Russia's EpiVacCorona vaccine gives protection against coronavirus for one year, Rinat Maksyutov, the head of Vector Research Center, the vaccine's developer, said.
The addition of Sputnik V vaccine components to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will help them more effectively fight against coronavirus mutations, Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
Moscow is negotiating with several Austrian companies to set up production of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in this country, Dmitriev also said.
Afghanistan's request for Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is currently under consideration by the Russian government, and Kabul would like to receive the vaccine as soon as possible, Afghan Ambassador to Russia Said Tayeb Jawad told Sputnik in an interview.
Ghana's Health Ministry registered Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, becoming the 31st country to do so, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.
There has been no secret clause involving supplies of the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, to Syria as part of a Russian-brokered prisoner swap with Israel, a media source told state-run news agency SANA, indicating that such "fabricated" information aims to insult the country.
Doctors from the city hospital in the Russian city of Samara successfully treated a 100-year-old patient admitted with COVID-19 several weeks prior, the local health authority said.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the company expected to double its rollout of coronavirus vaccines to 10 million a week over the next two weeks as US President Joe Biden pledged enough supply of doses to immunize all Americans by July.
AstraZeneca is going to produce in Japan doses of the coronavirus vaccine enough for 40 million people, the executive director of the Japanese department of the firm said.
Japanese Health Ministry suspects that COVID-19 vaccine may cause allergic rash as a side effect and has recommended that health care workers examine the recipients of the vaccine 15 minutes after inoculation, the office of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.
Israel agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinian workers against COVID-19, the Health Ministry of the Palestinian Authority said.
Russia registered 12,953 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 13,433 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,151,984, the coronavirus response center said.
The first individuals to enter England's new hotel quarantine scheme checked into their accommodation earlier this week, and two current residents of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near Heathrow Airport told Sputnik that while they had few complaints about their living conditions, the 1,750-pound ($2,450) price tag left a sour taste.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that countries should promote equal cooperation in the World Health Organization (WHO) amid the coronavirus pandemic that demands the international community to take joint efforts.
US President Joe Biden promised the government will take a concerted effort to eradicate cancer once the coronavirus pandemic is defeated.
