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Coronavirus pandemic

Vaccination against COVID in Russia will be voluntary

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Vaccination against coronavirus in Russia will take place voluntarily, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday adding that "no one will force anyone."

"The opportunity to be vaccinated against coronavirus should be in every region of our country and for every person," the Prime Minister said at a meeting with manufacturers of vaccines against coronavirus infection.

"Of course, people will be able to vaccinate at will, no one will force anyone to do it," Mishustin stressed.

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Russia’s EpiVacCorona vaccine delivered to 9 medical centers for post-registration trials

The Prime Minister stated that the situation with the coronavirus in the country "remains difficult." "The sooner people receive high-quality and effective vaccines, the faster the situation will improve," he said.

According to Mishustin, "other countries are also showing interest in the Russian vaccine."

"The priority task at the first stage, of course, is to provide our citizens, Russians, with vaccines," the Prime Minister stressed.

Mishustin recalled that by now the vaccines developed by the Gamaleya Research Center and the Vector Scientific Center have been registered. The Sputnik V vaccine by the Gamalea center is produced at several sites, the list of which will expand, he noted.

Earlier on Tuesday it became known that the second interim analysis of clinical trial data showed over 95% efficacy for the Sputnik V vaccine 42 days after administering the first dose and 7 days after the second dose.

On August 11, Russia registered the world’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry, and its clinical trials were successfully completed in June-July. The third, post-registration, stage of clinical tests began on August 25. The vaccine was developed on a platform that had been used for a number of other vaccines. According to the Russian health ministry, these vaccines have proved their ability to form lasting immunity for a period of up to two years. The first batch of the vaccine was dispatched to Russian regions on September 12.

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IAEA chief to have working contacts with Rosatom, no meeting with Putin is planned

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Russian deputy defense minister detained on suspicion of bribe-taking

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Russian defense minister dismisses his deputy Ivanov

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US draft on nukes in space seeks to go beyond legal framework Russia adheres to — MFA

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Switzerland unblocks Russia-related assets worth 290 mln Swiss francs

The total amount of blocked assets of the Russian Federation decreased by 150 million Swiss francs (about $165 million) due to the fact that a number of individuals "were removed from the EU sanctions lists"

13 violations by US-led international coalition’s aircraft recorded in Syria

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Ukrainian army strikes own surrendering soldiers — POW

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Russia’s top brass reports destroying US-made Hawk air defense system in Ukraine operation

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Ukrainian forces refuse to obey Commander-in-Chief Syrsky — CIA ex-analyst

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Russia maintains position on 'buffer zone' in Ukraine to counter missile threats

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Bolivarian Alliance countries stand for multipolar world — Maduro

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US will have to take Russia into account and find common ground with it — Putin

Russian President said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel journalist Pavel Zarubin

Musk concurs that civil war looming in West

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Russia vetoes US-backed UNSC resolution on banning nuclear weapons in outer space

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Ukraine’s draft dodger makes attempt to cross Dniester into Moldova on air mattress

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Sergey Ryabkov noted that such problems exist for Russians using Turkish Airlines flights to other Latin American countries

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Putin stays in daily contact with Sergey Shoigu, Kremlin spokesman says

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Niger would like Russia to train its troops — interior minister says

Mohamed Toumba noted that the training of troops could help in the fight against terrorism

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Tim Burchett added that "it’s not about little green man or flying saucers, it’s about tens of millions of dollars that our federal government is spending"

Reinforced Ukrainian battlegroup fails to break through Russian defenses in DPR — expert

Andrey Marochko added that the Ukrainians have also intensified artillery and drone attacks at Russian positions

Russian children’s commissioner holds first face-to-face talks with Ukrainian counterparts

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German defense minister says Russia making more arms than it needs for its op in Ukraine

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Dmitry Peskov pointed out that a year ago the opponents "were telling everyone that they were waiting for the moment Russia would be defeated on the battlefield"

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Moscow slams NATO drills near Russian borders as inflammatory

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Top US diplomat Blinken arrives in Shanghai

A State Department spokesperson told a special briefing previewing Blinken’s trip earlier that the Secretary of State would visit Shanghai and Beijing to "build on our intensive diplomacy [with China] over the past year"

Attempts are made to turn Moldova into ‘second Ukraine’, Lavrov warns

The Russian foreign minister also said that Chisinau's behavior resembles role-playing

Putin informed about detention of Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov

Minister Sergey Shoigu was also informed beforehand, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

Ukrainian army short about 150,000-200,000 troops, says Polish general

Waldemar Skrzypczak also said it was "a matter of hours" until Kiev received the weapons allocated by the US as part of its latest military aid package

US stops hiding true purpose of sanctions on Moscow, Russian envoy says

"It’s not about any mythical aspirations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but about banal opportunistic and predatory ambitions," Anatoly Antonov said

Ukraine turns into testing ground for future world order, says Belarus president

"The largest nuclear powers, albeit indirectly, are actually fighting on Ukrainian territory. And not indirectly," the president of Belarus noted

Annual inflation in Russia gearing down to 7.82% over week — Economy Ministry

"Inflation in the consumer market slowed down to 0.08% over the week from April 16 to 22, 2024," the ministry informed

Russia dissatisfied with UN’s activity under grain deal — senior diplomat

Alexander Pankin noted that during his visit to New York he did not have any talks with UN officials on the Russian-UN memorandum

Russia to submit its own resolution on nuclear weapons in outer space to UNSC

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Kiev may use ATACMS missiles to hit Crimean Bridge — Russian defense ministry official

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West steps up aerial reconnaissance near Russia-Belarus borders — security official

"Today, 20-30 reconnaissance planes fly in the airspace of the Baltic states and Poland weekly," Pavel Muraveiko added

Ukrainian troops in Kharkov Region lift antennas with kites to get better signal

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Putin proclaims Odessa Russian city, challenges Ukraine's historical narrative

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West’s unwillingness to give up hegemony escalates tensions in world — security official

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Bolivian leader decries fresh US military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

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Top brass posts video of Leopard tanks, Bradley combat vehicles seized by Russian troops

The video shows Russian troops examining the enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles seized in battles

AUKUS expansion to turn Asia-Pacific region into 'nuclear minefield' — news agency

According to the report, "the danger of Japan's participation in AUKUS is making the whole international community tense, not to mention the regional countries"