Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Belarus will start administering the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to its citizens in January, Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich told reporters, BelTA has learned.

“The first batch of the vaccine will arrive in January. We will start the vaccination program in January,” Dmitry Pinevich said.

He informed that after the comprehensive study of the application for conditional marketing authorization submitted by Russia to Belarus' authorities, a decision was made to register the Sputnik V vaccine and allow administering it in Belarus. “The vaccine has been registered in the country; permits have been issued to allow its clinical use. The vaccine shots can already be administered in the territory of our country as part of routine work, not within the framework of clinical trials. Now we are discussing the further delivery of the vaccine and other matters,” Dmitry Pinevich said.

In line with Belarus' vaccination priority criteria, the first to get the shots will be healthcare professionals, teachers, retail workers and other people who contact with the general public. They will receive the vaccine free of charge.

According to the minister, “200,000 people are to be vaccinated at the first stage, with 2 million people vaccinated later”. “The figure might change, it all depends on the epidemiological situation,” he said. The minister added that a step-by-step strategy will be developed together with experts.

Answering the question whether negotiations with other vaccine suppliers are held, Dmitry Pinevich said that all options are being considered. “However, collaboration with Russian counterparts is a priority. After all, we are working on the possible localization of the vaccine production in the country,” he added.

The application for conditional marketing authorization of the Sputnik V vaccine was submitted to the Center for Examinations and Tests in Health Service in November 2020. An expert group was put together by the Healthcare Ministry to study the application. The group includes experts of the Center for Examinations and Tests in Health Service, the country's leading specialists in communicable diseases and members of the national research centers. They scrutinized the materials on the pre-clinical trials of the vaccine. It was established that the Sputnik V vaccine passed all the stages of pre-clinical trials and proved its safety and efficacy.

According to the press service of the Healthcare Ministry, 100 volunteers took part in the clinical trials of the vaccine in Belarus. They were randomly divided into two groups: the first group received the vaccine, and the second received a placebo. The two-dose coronavirus vaccine regimen provides for two injections spaced 21 days apart. Researchers assess antibody production (“humoral immunity”) and T-cell responses (“cellular immunity”) in volunteers.

As of 9 December, all the 100 participants in the Phase III clinical trials in Belarus received the first dose and 98 received the booster shot. Two volunteers were diagnosed with coronavirus infection during the mandatory testing for SARS-CoV-2 before getting the second shot. “The second injection was given to 98 people, the remaining two volunteers contacted with coronavirus cases between the first and second shots and got sick, so they did not receive the second injection,” Dmitry Pinevich noted.

The follow-up study will be in progress for 180 days (6 months), after which a final report will be prepared.

At the same time, the press service noted that vaccinated people develop a stable humoral and cellular immunity. This is achieved through the use of two different vectors delivering the drug and at the same time solving the problem of a possible neutralizing effect on the second injection.

Belarus registered 1,944 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; another 2,282 coronavirus patients recovered, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 173,523 cases. A total of 151,635 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,324 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus performed 3,778,152 tests, 30,079 – in the past 24 hours.

Director of the National Institute of Education Valentina Ginchuk spoke about the unified digital education platform for institutions of general secondary education during a roundtable hosted by the BelTA press center on 17 December.

“The library of learning materials is one of the elements of the online resource currently under development. The library is structured by academic subjects, grades and modules developed on the basis of the curricula. All the materials that are being developed for the digital platform will comply with the standards of general secondary education and curricula approved by the Education Ministry,” said Valentina Ginchuk.

The library of learning materials includes several subsections. “Each module will provide a reference to the paragraph of the textbook, on the basis of which the module has been developed. Each module will have a section that focuses students' attention to a list of skills, which should be mastered in the study of a new topic,” the director of the institute said.

“The module will feature a video explaining the new learning material and test tasks for self-check. Additional materials will also be available. We plan that this section will include teachers' methodical tools and electronic educational resources,” Valentina Ginchuk added.

The library of learning materials is being developed for all the grades and in the all academic subjects. “The 11th grade students will have a new curricula starting from the academic year 2021/2022. In this regard, learning materials on the unified digital education platform for the 11th grade will be developed in 2021. They will correspond to the new programs and textbooks,” the director of the institute concluded.

Plans are in place to launch the platform in a test mode on 1 January 2021.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Republic of Korea Andrei Popkov met with SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in the Republic of Korea.

SK Bioscience is one of Korea's largest vaccine manufacturers. The company is pursuing its own COVID-19 vaccine and is collaborating with global biotech companies to produce components for a coronavirus vaccine.

During the meeting the parties exchanged views on the latest trends in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, emphasized the importance of having national infrastructures to produce vaccines, and discussed possible ways of cooperation, including in the field of research.

They also discussed a possibility of partnerships between companies from different countries in the production of vaccines.

Scientists of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia have developed algorithms that can accurately predict the severity of the coronavirus infection, TASS learned from the press service of the FMBA.

“Researchers from Russia's Federal Medical and Biological Agency analyzed a great number of clinical and diagnostic parameters of a sample of over 6,900 patients who had symptoms of varying severity. This allowed them to develop mathematical models of the outcome of the disease based on machine learning algorithms,” the statement reads.

These algorithms confirmed that a number of clinical factors can help predict the severity of the course of the disease with a high degree of accuracy (about 90%). The clinical factors that were taken into account in the analysis were ferritin, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, respiratory rate and others.

The FMBA concluded that the likelihood of death of coronavirus patients increases with age, gender, body mass index and glucose levels.

Volunteers of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) invite Belarusians to send New Year and Christmas cards to their dear ones and at the same time to participate in a charity project, BelTA learned from UNICEF in Belarus.

The Good Things Start with Us project will last until 15 January and will take place on the platform https://www.unicef.by/nycard2021/.

On this website anyone can send an electronic or paper postcard of a unique design to their loved ones for a small donation. The money raised will be spent on the Family for Every Child project that helps children with disabilities to return from nursing facilities to their families. In exchange, the participant of the campaign will be able to send New Year and Christmas wishes anywhere in Belarus. The names of the sender and recipient are added to the text of the card, which makes it personalized.

“The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to stay at home and observe voluntary self-isolation. In such a situation, words of support can come in handy. In addition, amidst the holiday bustle, it is sometimes difficult to find time to buy and sign a postcard. Therefore, UNICEF volunteers in Belarus will take care of it this year,” the organizers explained.

Since 2018, the Family for Every Child project has been implemented in Gomel Oblast in partnership with the Let's Help Children Together charity with the financial support of Priorbank, Raiffeisen Leasing and the Government of the Russian Federation. For the first two years, the focus was on families who raise children with disabilities. About 500 parents received information about their rights, available medical services, rehabilitation, social services and educational opportunities. The condition of 51 children in 45 families improved. In four cases, specialists prevented abandonment of children. In 2020, UNICEF continued to work in the region. The technology of case management is being introduced into the work with children and families in vulnerable situations. Another focus is on preventing the institutionalization of small children.

Belarus registered 1,961 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; 2,542 coronavirus patients recovered, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 160,295 cases. A total of 138,464 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,263 COVID-19 patients have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus has performed 3,609,517 tests, including 30,856 in the past 24 hours.

Belarus has restricted departure across land borders amid the coronavirus pandemic. Resolution No. 705 of the Council of Ministers of 7 December "On amending the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 208 of 8 April 2020 and Resolution No. 624 of 30 October 2020" was published on the National Legal Internet Portal on 10 December, BelTA has learned.

The document has been adopted to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection. "Crossing of the state border of the Republic of Belarus to exit the Republic of Belarus by Belarus citizens and foreign nationals who have Belarus' permanent or temporary residency permit is temporarily suspended," the resolution reads.

The restriction applies to road checkpoints, simplified border checkpoints, checkpoints at railway stations and in river ports.

“In exceptional cases involving extraordinary circumstances, and also in order to ensure the national interests of the Republic of Belarus, the head of the State Border Committee or an authorized official may allow crossing the state border of the Republic of Belarus to depart the country,” the document says.

The new rules do not apply to diplomats, international drivers, business travelers, those visiting seriously ill relatives or funerals, those going to work or study, and others. A cap is imposed on trips for work or study abroad: such trips can be made only once in six months.

There are no restrictions on entry, but those arriving in the country “are required to self-isolate for 10 days from the date of arrival in the Republic of Belarus and cannot cross the state border of the Republic of Belarus until the expiration of the self-isolation period”. Foreigners over six years old “must have an original or a copy of a medical document either in hard copy or an electronic form, confirming a negative COVID-19 test result”. The requirement does not apply to citizens with temporary or permanent residency permits.

The decree comes into force 10 days after its official publication.

Belarus registered 1,851 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; another 2,422 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 152,453 cases. A total of 129,950 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,230 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus performed 3,487,468 tests, 25,715 – in the past 24 hours.

The country office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided the Minsk National Airport with thermal imagers, individual and collective protective gear, and disinfectants, BelTA has learned.

Equipment worth a total of $47,000 was bought and handed over as part of the project designed to bolster the WHO's preparedness and response measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and meets all the WHO requirements.

The two new heat imagers the airport has received can detect people with fever among passengers. It is of critical importance for screening travelers and can help prevent or slow down the spread of COVID-19. A batch of protective gear and diagnostic tools includes 305 disposable protective suits, 20 full-face masks with filters, 106 FFP2 class respirators and 110 FFP3 class respirators, 1,000 disposable face masks, 30 protective face shields, vinyl gloves, boot covers, 50 panoramic hermetic goggles, 54 elbow-operated disinfectant dispensers, 50 flasks with disinfectants, two oxygen saturation monitors, and four non-contact infrared thermometers.

Head of the WHO Country Office in Belarus Masoud Dara stressed: “The airport plays a very important role from the point of view of the safety of passengers and the personnel that work here. The World Health Organization with USAID's assistance is pleased to provide the airport with aid for the sake of effectively fighting the coronavirus. The wearing of masks, the observance of physical distancing, hand hygiene – it is particularly important to observe all these measures here.”

Mikhail Volochko, Head of the Material Supply and Procurement Service of the enterprise Minsk National Airport, said: “This aid will substantially enhance our potential to stop the pandemic and to also develop transportation by air in these conditions. We try to focus on preventing diseases. The protective gear and diagnostic tools will be immediately put to use. We are grateful to the World Health Organization and to international donors for gratuitous aid to the airport in such a complicated period of time.”

Previously the Belarusian national center for hygiene, epidemiology, and public health received a batch of equipment worth $210,000 for diagnosing and treating COVID-19 patients as part of a USAID-WHO project. The national center for organizing medical response received 250 oxygen concentrators worth a total of $211,000.