At the moment, the most affected countries in the world are the US (over 13.5 million infected, 268,000 deaths), India (9.4 million infected, 137,000 fatalities), and Brazil (6.3 million cases, 173,000 deaths). At the same time, in Western Europe, France shows the highest tally (over 2.2 million), while the UK has the highest death toll in the region (58,500 dead).
Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee voted to give healthcare workers and nursing home residents the first of the COVID-19 vaccines once the doses are rolled out in the coming weeks.
“Most state and local jurisdictions expect to be able to vaccinate their healthcare workers within three weeks,” CDC Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director, Nancy Messonnies, said at Tuesday's meeting.
Nursing home residents, one of the most vulnerable groups to the virus, will also get their shots at the same time as the healthcare workers, the official said.
CDC slides released at the live-streamed meeting showed the agency expecting around 40 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to be available by the end of December, with shipments of 5 million to 10 million doses being made per week once a vaccine is authorized by regulators.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The total number of deaths related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the United States has exceeded 270,000, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University revealed.
The data showed on Tuesday evening that the number of novel coronavirus-related deaths in the United States has reached 270,003.
PARIS (Sputnik) - Mass vaccination against coronavirus is expected to start in France in the period between April and June 2021, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday following a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
"There will be the first phase, which will start as soon as possible, namely, as soon as the EU sanitary authorities are certified and the vaccines' doses are delivered to our countries. [The vaccination will start] likely in late December-early January. And there will be the first vaccination campaign," Macron said at a press conference.
The French leader also said that the first vaccination campaign will be very targeted, given the number of vaccine doses available, with the most vulnerable citizens to be the first to receive vaccines.
"The second wave of vaccination will likely begin sometime in April-June. And it will be more widespread," Macron added.
MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo said on Tuesday that Montevideo was considering a potential purchase of a Russian-made vaccine against the coronavirus disease.
Earlier in the day, Bustillo met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
"We are now deciding which vaccine we will purchase, but the Russian vaccine is on the list of vaccines we are considering, it has a good position, we’ll see," the minister said at a press conference after the meeting.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia emerged as a leader in vaccine development as two of its products, Sputnik V, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, and EpiVacCorona, developed by Siberia's research center Vector, are already in the Phase 3 trials. Another vaccine, by the Chumakov research center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will begin Phase 3 trials early in 2021.
LONDON, (Sputnik) - UK department store retailer Debenhams has announced its liquidation due to the crisis induced by the coronavirus pandemic, putting some 12,000 people at risk of losing their jobs, the retailer's administration FRP Advisory said on Tuesday.
Debenhams, founded in 1778, has been forced to close 124 of its stores after another retail company JD Sports pulled out of talks over a rescue deal for the department store. The retailer was placed under administration for the second time in 12 months amid the pandemic in April.
Debenhams had financial difficulties even before the pandemic. In the summer, when COVID-19 restrictions were eased, the chain reopened 124 stores. As of 2019, 25,000 people were employed in the department store chain.
MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited the country's National Coronavirus Enforcement Authority where he was briefed by the police on enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions across the country, the government said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu was accompanied by Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat, Acting Israel Police Inspector-General Motti Cohen and National Coronavirus Project Coordinator Nachman Ash.
Good to be chairing Cabinet this morning. We’re continuing in our efforts to fight the virus, but we must hold out against it. We now have reason to hope that by spring, community testing and vaccines will combine to end this era of restrictions. pic.twitter.com/EcEoE2MfZs
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 1, 2020
"No, that´s not being planned. I certainly am not planning to issue any vaccine passports and I don't know anyone else in government who would", Gove told the Sky News broadcaster.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Washington DC Metro is proposing to do away with weekend subway service in order to compensate for its coronavirus pandemic-induced budget deficit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said in a report prepared for an upcoming board meeting on Friday.
"A survey of Metrorail customers shows that former riders, who are currently teleworking full-time, would utilise Metrorail again only when an effective vaccine becomes widely available. Low ridership on Metrorail, particularly during peak hours, which typically is the greatest contributor to fare revenue, further dampens the Metro’s revenue outlook", the report says.
