27 April 2021

• India’s official coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000 although experts believe that the total is far higher.  The country reported 362,757 new infections and 3,293 deaths. Source

• The Directors of Anvisa, Brazil’s regulatory agency, voted unanimously not to import the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from Russia, saying data on the vaccine’s efficacy were “uncertain” and that key questions, such as those on adverse events, were unanswered. Brazilian officials, who were in Russia last week, were denied access to the Gamaleya Institute; they  inspected only two factories, finding problems in one of them, and Russian officials tried to cancel their visit.

The Sputnik V Twitter account responded, saying that “all the necessary information and documentation” had been given to Anvisa, and that the decision was “…of a political nature,” which had “nothing to do with access to information or science,” alleging that the US had influenced Brazil not to approve the vaccine. Source

• Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, was photographed without a mask at a government meeting, despite Bangkok’s masking mandate; he was fined $190. Source

Return to the timeline