MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 5.129 million, over 255.4 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 255,439,118, including 5,129,932 fatalities. As many as 7.59 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to accelerate the requalification of vaccines and focus on mass immunization.
Russian-made vaccine Sputnik V is still undergoing evaluation at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which will provide additional information when it becomes available, Dr. Fergus Sweeney, the head of the clinical studies and manufacturing task force at the EMA, said.
Russian coronavirus vaccine CoviVac is suitable as a booster dose for people who initially received other vaccines, Aydar Ishmukhametov, the head of the Chumakov research center, said.
Italy is likely to roll out coronavirus antivirals in form of pills after Christmas, Nicola Magrini, the head of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), said.
The US government has agreed to purchase 10 million doses of an oral anti-viral medication that targets the virus responsible for COVID-19, provided the medication receives approval by the food and Drug Administration, Pfizer said.
The United States plans to make an anti-viral COVID-19 drug developed by Pfizer widely available at no cost, with a tentative agreement to purchase 10 million doses, once the treatment receives approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), President Joe Biden said.
Third phase trials of AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail AZD7442 have shown that a one-time preventative intramuscular dose of the drug reduces the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 by 83%, a research paper reads.
Russia has confirmed 37,374 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 9,219,912, the response center said. The response center reported a record 1,251 deaths linked to the coronavirus, bringing the country's death toll to 260,335.
Germany has registered 65,371 new coronavirus cases within the past 24 hours, marking thus the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, Robert Koch Institute said.
India has confirmed 11,919 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 34,478,517, the country's ministry of health and family welfare said.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 11,977 to 21,977,661 within the past 24 hours, the national ministry of health said.
The issuance of QR-codes to foreigners staying in Russia, including diplomats, may be based on getting the WHO-approved vaccines or on the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, German Ambassador to Moscow Geza Andreas von Geyr said.
Czechs and Slovaks who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus will be barred from most public places starting Monday as the two central European nations battle a spike in infections.
The lower house of the German parliament approved a bill to replace the existing law on infection protection, paving the way for the nationwide state of COVID-19 emergency to expire on November 25.
Lung autopsies and blood plasma samples from patients who died from COVID-19 show that as the disease progresses, lungs lose their ability to repair damaged tissues, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said.
The mortality rate from COVID-19 is likely to decrease with incidence rates trending lower than seasonal flu by summer 2022 unless fresh unexpected strains occur, microsoft co-founder and noted philanthropist Bill Gates said.
