Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 4.927 million, almost 242.3 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 Thursday, the number of cases globally is 242,379,795, including 4,927,525 fatalities. As many as 6.73 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Russian production facilities are finalizing preparations of the additional documents requested by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that are necessary for completing the certification of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Assistant Health Minister Alexey Kuznetsov said. The date of the visit of EMA experts is being worked out and will take place this year, Kuznetsov said.

The Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is still undergoing examination at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and no forecasts on the timeline can yet be made, Marco Cavaleri, the head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy at the EMA, said.

Information attacks on the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine based on unreliable and misleading information from anonymous sources have become more frequent in the media, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) told Sputnik.

The Mechnikov Institute of Biotechnology in Nicaragua will produce the Russian vaccine against COVID-19, CoviVac, trials have already begun, Laureano Ortega Murillo, Nicaraguan presidential adviser on investment, trade and cooperation, said during the 6th congress of Russian and Nicaraguan pharmaceutical companies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is studying data from Sweden and Denmark about a possible link between the use of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine and an increased risk of heart inflammation, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to Medicines, Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals Mariangela Simao said.

The WHO will conduct inspections of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in Russia in the upcoming few weeks, Simao said.

More than 1 billion Indian citizens have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, Minister of Health Mansukh Mandaviya said.

The United States has distributed 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to over 100 countries around the world, with most of the shots having gone to Africa, State Department officials told reporters.

The US food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it had approved the use of third doses of the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccines against the novel coronavirus for eligible individuals.

The White House calls upon all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to support the US initiative for intellectual property waiver with respect to COVID-19 vaccines to boost their manufacturing amid ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on G20 to "decide on a plan" to transfer available COVID-19 vaccines from north to south, Gordon Brown, the WHO ambassador for Global Health Finance and a former UK prime minister, said.

Developing economies have received only 261 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, which make up 14% of the total number of shots which wealthy countries promised to supply, the People's Vaccine Alliance said in a report.

Russia registered a new single-day record of 36,339 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, up from 34,073 the day before, bringing the cumulative total to 8,131,164, the federal response center said.

The new coronavirus Delta strain variant, AY.4.2, has been found in isolated cases in Russia, it is possible that it will spread in the country, Kamil Khafizov, the head of the scientific group for the development of new methods for diagnosing human diseases at Russian consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor's Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, said.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 15,609 to 21,680,488 within the past 24 hours, the national ministry of health said.

The Kuwaiti authorities announced a "cautious" return of the country to normal life in connection with the lifting of a number of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates between Russia and Europe may happen before the registration of the Sputnik V vaccine in the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Thursday that the non-working days in the Russian capital will be set for the period between October 28 and November 7.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the world may face a shortage of medical staff, Annette Kennedy, International Council of Nurses President said.