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world news Diahuebs 3 December 2020

Putin orders 'large-scale' COVID-19 vaccination in Russia

(AP) — Russian Presi- days.” have said they have already
dent Vladimir Putin on taken it too.
Wednesday ordered the “This gives us the opportu-
start of a “large-scale” nity to start if not mass, but Health Minister Mikhail
COVID-19 vaccination by large-scale vaccination, and Murashko said Wednesday
late next week, with doc- of course, as we agreed, first that more than 100,000 peo-
tors and teachers to be the of all of the two risk groups ple in Russia have been given
first in line to receive the — doctors and teachers,” Pu- the shots.
Sputnik V shots, which tin told government officials.
have yet to complete ad- He tasked Deputy Prime Kirill Dmitriyev, head of the
vanced studies needed to Minister Tatyana Golikova to Russian Direct Investment
ensure its effectiveness “organize the work in such a Fund that bankrolled the de-
and safety in line with es- way so that large-scale vac- velopment of the jab, added
tablished scientific proto- cination starts by the end of that around 25,000 people
cols. next week." have been vaccinated “as part
of a clinical trial now." Dmi-
Putin’s statement comes Golikova said that the vacci- triyev said that outside of European Medicines Agency rapid resurgence of the out-
hours after Britain became nation will be voluntary and the trial, the vaccine was of- to get approval of the jab in break this fall, with numbers
the first country in the West free of charge, and that the fered to “volunteers” among Europe, as well as in other of confirmed COVID-19
to authorize the use of a CO- government was looking to medical workers “because we countries. infections and deaths regu-
VID-19 vaccine from U.S. include other demographics, wanted to protect our front- larly hitting new highs and
drugmaker Pfizer and Ger- on top of doctors and teach- line personnel first.” “We understand that it may significantly exceeding those
many’s BioNTech. ers, into the immunization take some time, but we con- reported in the spring.
campaign. Earlier this month, devel- currently, you know, have ap-
Sputnik V has been touted opers of the vaccine said plied for approval in 40 dif- On Wednesday, Russia has
in Russia as the world’s “first The two-shot Sputnik V vac- interim analysis of the trial ferent countries and we are registered a record high num-
registered COVID-19 vac- cine was developed by the data showed it was 91.4% ef- working very closely with ber of 589 new coronavirus
cine” after it received regula- Moscow-based Gamaleya fective. The conclusion was regulators in all of those deaths. The previous record
tory approval in early August. Institute. An advanced study based on 39 infections among countries," Dmitriyev said. of 569 deaths was registered
However, giving the shots the among 40,000 volunteers was 18,794 study participants that on Tuesday. The government
government go-ahead drew announced two weeks after received both doses of either Dmitriyev said earlier this task force has recorded a total
considerable criticism from the vaccine received govern- the vaccine or the placebo, month that more than 1 bil- of 41,053 virus-related deaths
experts, because at the time ment approval. The trial is which is a much lower num- lion doses of the vaccine are since the start of the out-
they had only been tested on still ongoing, but the vaccine ber of infections than West- expected to be produced next break.
several dozen people. is already being offered to ern drugmakers looked at year outside of Russia. Putin's
people in risk groups — such when assessing the effective- spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s total of over 2.3
Putin said Wednesday that as medical workers — despite ness of their vaccines. however, stressed Wednes- million confirmed cases is
more than 2 million doses of expert warnings against its day that vaccinating Russians currently the fourth-largest
the Sputnik V jab “has been wider use before it completes Dmitriyev said Wednesday “will be the absolute priority." caseload in the world. On
produced or will have been all the necessary testing. Sev- that developers of the vaccine Wednesday, officials regis-
produced in the next few eral high-profile officials have already applied to the Russia has been swept by a tered 25,345 new infections.

Mexico's president calls virus lockdowns "dictatorship"

(AP) — Mexican Presi- Wednesday that politi- COVID-19 are acting like The comments came as leave their homes, something
dent Andrés Manuel cians who impose lock- dictators. López Obrador once again López Obrador has fiercely
López Obrador suggested downs or curfews to limit fended off questions about resisted doing, arguing some
why he almost never wears people live day-to-day on
a face mask, saying it was a what they earn on the streets.
question of liberty.
Some local governments in
The Mexican leader said Mexico have tried to use po-
pandemic measures that lim- lice to enforce limits on masks
it people’s movements are or movement, which resulted
“fashionable among authori- in scandals of abusive behav-
ties ... who want to show they ior by police. López Obrador
are heavy handed, dictator- argues such measures should
ship.” be voluntary.
“A lot of them are letting their “Everyone is free. Whoever
authoritarian instincts show,” wants to wear a face mask
he said, adding “the funda- and feel safer is welcome to
mental thing is to guarantee do so,” López Obrador said.
liberty.”
The Mexican government
It was unclear if the Mexican has offered changing and
leader was referring to au- contradictory advice on the
thorities in other countries, utility of wearing face masks.
or the mainly opposition-
party local leaders who have Mexico has seen almost
tried to impose limits in 107,000 test-confirmed
Mexico. deaths so far, the fourth-
highest toll in the world, but
Many governments across Mexico does relatively little
the world have effectively testing and officials estimate
implemented lockdowns or the real death toll is closer to
limits on when people can 150,000.