MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd September, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 4.548 million, over 218.8 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 20:15 GMT Thursday, the number of cases globally is 218,823,527, including 4,548,299 fatalities. As many as 5.36 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine demonstrated 94.8% efficacy against the coronavirus during the vaccination campaign in San Marino, while its efficacy against hospitalizations is estimated at 95.9%, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a sovereign wealth fund that markets the Sputnik V vaccine abroad, has invested 22 billion rubles ($302 million) in the brand, its CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
Russia's Vector research center plans to switch to production of the recently registered EpiVacCorona-N vaccine against the coronaivrus, since it is easier to produce than the EpiVacCorona vaccine, while there is no difference at all for consumers, deputy head of the center, Tatiana Nepomnyashchikh, told Sputnik.
US pharmaceutical companies are negotiating potential production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 for export to third countries, Alexis Rodzianko, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), told Sputnik.
Russia has put on market over 70 million full doses of coronavirus vaccines, mostly Sputnik V, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said, stressing that the country is not facing vaccine shortage.
Ecuador wants to build a center for coronavirus vaccine production with the use of Russian experience and technologies, Russian ambassador to the Latin American country, Vladimir Sprinchan, told Sputnik.
The Russian Federal Biomedical Agency (FMBA) created rapid tests capable of detecting Jota and Lambda coronavirus strains in people, FMBA chief Veronika Skvortsova said.
The Italian vaccination campaign will begin to administer third doses of coronavirus vaccines to citizens with poor immune response in late September, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said.
Greece's Council of State, which is the nation's top administrative court, has tuned down the request of health workers to suspend the law obligating certain groups of the population to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the ERT broadcaster reported.
Plans to begin producing COVID-19 vaccines locally in Latin America and the Caribbean have advanced with more than 30 proposals for the regional introduction of needed technology, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said.
Russia registered 18,985 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, and the overall tally reached 6,956,318, the country's response center said.
India has confirmed 47,092 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 32,857,937, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 27,345 to 20,804,215 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said.
The recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe is mostly attributed to mass summer travel and ease of restrictions, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Russia, Melita Vujnovic, told Sputnik.
The WHO continues to monitor the Lambda strain of COVID-19 as a variant of interest, Vujnovic told Sputnik.
Russia received the necessary technical information about the EU COVID certificate, but there are no official negotiations on this issue yet, a European Commission spokesperson told Sputnik.
The European Commission will report on the validity of the European Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) to the European Parliament and Council three months before expiration and might propose extending it, should the epidemiological situation require, the commission's spokesperson told Sputnik.
Vaccine certificates are very important for both individuals and healthcare systems, as they help track COVID-19 shot uptake rates and more effectively monitor adverse reactions, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, told Sputnik.
Thailand is experiencing severe blood shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said, launching an urgent appeal for eligible healthy donors to help.
The EU considers the European Digital COVID Certificate a success, since it has helped restore over 70% of the air traffic reduced by COVID-19 travel restrictions, a spokesperson for the European Commission told Sputnik.
