58 officially confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Tajikistan yesterday, bringing a total number of officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country to 5,279 as of the evening of June 18, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP).
3,762 COVID-19 patients (+62 people) have reportedly recovered as of the evening of June 18, 2020.
According to a MoHSPP, an official number of the coronavirus-linked deaths remains in the country the same – 51.
Meanwhile, drug-makers and experts across the world are ramping up efforts to arrive at the potential vaccine against Covid-19.
Russian Health Ministry said in a statement that clinical trials of a Russian coronavirus vaccine started on June 18.
Two forms of the vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya research institute — liquid and powder for injections — are being tested on two groups of volunteers, 38 people each, the statement said. The participants have been isolated in two Moscow hospitals.
The Gamaleya institute made headlines last month when its director, Professor Alexander Gintsburg, made a statement that he and other researchers had tried the vaccine on themselves before the start of human studies.
He didn’t clarify how many people injected themselves with the substance, but told the Interfax news agency that no one experienced any side effects: “Everyone is alive and well and cheerful.”
In comments to RIA Novosti, Gintsburg insisted that he and others hadn't intended to test the vaccine — they were merely looking to “protect themselves (from the virus) with the vaccine."
The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom congratulated the government of the United Kingdom, which partially funded the trials that were led by Oxford University.
WHO on June 16 welcomed the preliminary clinical trial results from the United Kingdom that show dexamethasone, a steroid, can be lifesaving for coronavirus patients under ventilator or oxygen support.
According to WHO, dexamethasone is a steroid that has been used since the 1960s to reduce inflammation in a range of conditions, including inflammatory disorders and certain cancers. It has been listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines since 1977 in multiple formulations and is currently off-patent and affordably available in most countries.
