Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 2.749 million, over 125.2 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 20:40 GMT Thursday, the number of cases globally is 125,234,087, including 2,749,085 fatalities.

The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 30,058,622, including 545,895 fatalities.

Russia's Chumakov research center officially launched production of the country's third coronavirus vaccine, CoviVac, the Ministry of Science and Higher education said.

Russia's Chumakov research center will submit documents to the World Health Organization (WHO) for prequalification of its CoviVac coronavirus vaccine in the fall, the center's head, Aydar Ishmukhametov, said.

Russia has been in talks with the African Union and national governments about getting its anti-coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V approved for use on the continent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Belarusian pharmaceutical company Belmedpreparaty launched industrial production of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the Belarusian Health Ministry said.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced that it had reached an agreement with Serbia's Torlak institute to produce Russian vaccine Sputnik V in Serbia, with production expected to start by May 2021.

Malaysia has confidence in Russian vaccine Sputnik V, plans to purchase two batches and is in talks with Russia on potential production, Malaysian Ambassador to Russia Bala Chandran said in an interview with Sputnik.

The southern African state of Lesotho has secured the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine with shipments scheduled to begin in two months, a local nonprofit organization told Sputnik.

Russian President Vladimir Putin feels fine after being inoculated against the coronavirus, he has no side effects, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin said that he would visit more places, including cultural events, after developing COVID-19 antibodies.

The Biden administration has announced a $10 billion investment to expand access to coronavirus vaccines in the most vulnerable populations in the United States, including communities of color and low-income populations, the White House said.

UK-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca reasserted effectiveness of its vaccine after recalculating data from the disputed US study, albeit revising its efficacy in preventing symptomatic coronavirus cases down by three percentage points to 76 percent.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is set to convene an "ad hoc expert group" on Monday to discuss the reports of individuals suffering blood clots after receiving AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

Denmark decided to extend the suspension AstraZeneca vaccination by another three weeks, Soren Brostrom, the director general of the Danish health authority, said.

Sweden's Public Health Agency recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine to be used again in the country but only for people aged 65 and older.

Canadian health regulators on Thursday issued a disclaimer regarding blood clots that may potentially form in individuals who vaccinate with the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

Members of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's family got special access to state coronavirus tests early on in the pandemic, The Washington Post reported citing three sources.

Mexico has administered more than 6 million doses of various coronavirus vaccines since the rollout of the mass immunization campaign in late December, using over half of all the received vaccines, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez said.

Over 50 percent of Israeli citizens have received both shots of a coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said.

Russia registered 9,221 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, up from 8,861 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,492,692, the coronavirus response center said.

Russia resumes flights with Germany, Venezuela, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka from April 1, the federal coronavirus response center told reporters.

UK lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a six-month extension of the Coronavirus Act, the legislation that gives the government emergency powers to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, despite opposition from Conservative backbenchers.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Italian political party Lega, expressed hope that the country's coronavirus restrictions would be softened next month.

Paraguay has decided to introduce coronavirus-linked strict restrictions on movement on the threshold of the Catholic Easter, Cabinet chief Hernan Huttemann said.

The third and final GDP reading for the United States improved slightly to 4.3 percent from 4.1 percent, but the shift did not change the overall economic decline of 3.5 percent for 2020, the Commerce Department said

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not initiate a confidence vote in her government in the parliament over the situation around the coronavirus-linked Easter lockdown.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted initial discussions on allocating additional $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in support of the global COVID-19 recovery, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said.

New York Attorney-General Letitia James said that banks, creditors and debt collection agencies cannot seize COVID-19 relief money that residents had received from the government and would hold them accountable if they engage in such practices.

The US Senate voted in favor of extending a pandemic assistance program for small businesses that was set expire at the end of the month.

A slim majority of American voters approves of President Joe Biden's management of the coronavirus pandemic, a new poll by Rasmussen Reports revealed.