Asia-West / Mid-East / North-Africa

Many Lebanese now search the country and beyond for necessary drugs. Older adults ask religious organizations and aid groups for help.

Russia’s health ministry has approved a trial of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 on 110 volunteers over the age of 60.

The vaccine has been developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, which completed early-stage human trials of the vaccine last month.

As scientists around the world rush to create a coronavirus vaccine, there are rapid developments in Russia.

Approval is expected by mid-October, as the number of infections grow and Moscow pushes to raise its profile abroad.

The vaccine will be ready for wide distribution late this year or early next, officials say. That's roughly the same schedule as shots from rivals in the U.S., U.K. and China.

The Russian government is revising plans for the purchase of some of the most expensive drugs.

After announcing the first government clearance for a coronavirus vaccine, Russia delayed distributing it. It remains unclear how many people have received it.

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday it will supply India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories with 100 million doses of the Sputnik-V vaccine against COVID-19 once it receives regulatory approval in India.

On August 11th, Putin announced the approval of the world's first vaccine against COVID-19.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, says Russia has registered a possible COVID-19 vaccine with state regulators, and that one of his daughters has been injected with it.

Russia on Tuesday became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, a move that was met with international skepticism and unease because the shots have only been studied in dozens of people.

Officials in Russia and the West express alarm at the speed of vaccine development and the methods used.

Russia intends to be the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine, despite concerns about its safety, effectiveness and whether the country has cut essential corners in development.

Novartis’s Sandoz division will not profit from 15 generic drugs it is making available to developing countries to treat symptoms of COVID-19 for the pandemic’s duration.