Sputnik vaccines reliable as AK-47 rifle: Putin

President Vladimir Putin has heralded Russia's COVID-19 vaccine offering as reliable as the country's world-renowned Kalashnikov (AK-47) assault rifle.During a video conference on Thursday with Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, he said, "Our medications are based on technologies and platforms that have been used literally for decades. They are also very modern and up-to-date, and undoubtedly, they are the most reliable and the safest.""They are as reliable as an AK-47. By the way, it wasn't us who said that, this was said by a European specialist. And I think that he is certainly right," TASS quoted Putin as saying.The comment came as the country's health officials registered a single-dose version of the Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday, dubbed Sputnik Light.Putin's comparison referenced the Soviet Union-era weapon that remains popular and widely used still today.He was quoting a comment originally made by an Austrian doctor earlier this year about the jab's efficacy.The Sputnik V vaccine works in a similar way to others developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson....

Read More........ → May 08, 2021

India to produce 300 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine

DEC 18, 2020 MOSCOW: India will produce about 300 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in 2021, Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said. "In India, we have agreements with four large manufacturers. ... India will produce about 300 million doses or more of the vaccine for us next year," he said, in an interview to Rossiya 24 TV channel, quoted by Tass News Agency. Tass further reported that Dmitriev noted, out of 110 production sites that negotiated production of Sputnik V, RDIF chose 10 that meet its requirements. "The Russian Sputnik V will be actively produced in the world and we see that this is built on a safe platform based on the human adenovirus," Dmitriev added. The Russian embassy in India on Friday, quoting the RDIF CEO, said that Russia is testing the first samples of its Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 that were produced in India. Sputnik V, the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, is over 95 per cent effective, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)...

Read More........ → December 19, 2020

Biden joins battle for Senate as McConnell accepts win

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden waves as he arrives at Hartsfield Jackson International airport to campaign for Democratic U.S. senatorial candidates in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., December 15, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Mike SegarNewly United States President-elect Joe Biden has joined the Democratic battle for control of the US Senate on Tuesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others top Republicans and holdout foreign leaders was finally acknowledged Biden’s win for White House.Biden, in the meantime, flew into Georgia, a southern state he won in an upset against President Donald Trump, to host a rally for two Democratic candidates in runoff races that will determine the Senate’s balance of power.Addressing the crowd at the drive-in event in Atlanta, Biden said, “Honk for your next United States senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock”. During this, he urged voters to turn out in force on 5 January.“Send me these two men, and we will control the Senate!” he added.One day after the Electoral College affirmed Biden’s victory, attention shifted to the looming Senate battle —...

Read More........ → December 17, 2020