Nod for single-dose Sputnik likely in May

Moscow, April 21

Russia can approve the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its Covid vaccine in May and can have capacity to produce 30 million doses of the shot per month by the end of 2021, a government minister said on Wednesday.

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov made the comments after President Vladimir Putin gave a state-of-the-nation address in which he called on Russians to get vaccinated.

In Sri Lanka, at least three have died of blood clots after receiving the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine against the Covid, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi informed Parliament. Wanniarachchi quoted the WHO as saying that the vaccine was not the cause for blood clots.

In Germany, lawmakers voted on a proposal by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to mandate uniform restrictions in areas where Covid is spreading too quickly, while thousands of protesters gathered on a nearby street oppossing further Covid curbs. — Agencies