• The world’s COVID-19 cases double in six weeks, to surpasses 20 million. The ten countries with the highest caseloads are the US, India, Brazil, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Russia and the Philippines. Source
• Scientists around the world have criticized the approval of Sputnik 5, an experimental coronavirus vaccine in Russia which has only been tested in 78 people. The Ministry of Health granted a registration certificate to a vaccine being developed at Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, which announced that it has already gotten orders for a billion doses from 20 countries, and that it plans to manufacture it in Brazil, Cuba, India, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. The certificate allows the vaccine to be given to a small number of vulnerable people, but it cannot be widely used until January 1, 2021. It is entering a 2,000-person phase III trial in Russia, Latin America and the Middle East. Sources 1,2
• Researchers report that adolescents who smoke e-cigarettes alone or in addition to cigarettes are at higher risk for COVID-19 than non-smokers ( 2.6 times greater and 9 times greater, respectively). Source
• Moderna reveals that it may not be the patent holder for its experimental coronavirus vaccine. Source
