27 November 2020 

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has inaugurated a pharmaceutical plant in Siberia to manufacture Covid-19 drugs. Russia has been experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases since September. However, authorities have not imposed national restrictions, but instead are relying on targeted measures in different regions.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, India’s first Covid-19 vaccine candidate, has begun its Phase III human clinical trial at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Dr M V Padma Srivastava, the chief of the institute’s Neurosciences Centre, and three other volunteers are expected to receive the first dose. Around 15,000 volunteers will be enrolled into the trial in the next few days reports suggested.

Svitlana Shatalova, the deputy health minister, stated that Ukraine has sought a $100m loan from the World Bank to purchase Covid-19 vaccine doses to tackle rising infections in the country. The government is finalising all agreements, and the loan will be allocated towards the purchase of diagnostic and laboratory equipment as well, she added.

Biotests‘ Pentaglobin(R) is the first and only immunoglobulin M (IgM)-enriched preparation available in the global market. It is usually used for treating severe bacterial infections along with related antibiotics, but Pentaglobin(R) is also being used to treat severe Covid-19 patients with secondary bacterial infections.