Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Every person in Belarus will have access to vaccines, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting held on 22 December to discuss the development of virus vaccines and the localization of production of foreign vaccines, BelTA has learned.

According to the head of state, Belarus can do large-scale vaccination against COVID-19 in two ways. The first one is to produce its own vaccines. “We have scientists, projects, schools – we should work on that. I want you tell me about the prospects because we cannot waste money. Therefore, we will work on Belarusian vaccines,” the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the production of immunological medicines of such level is a brand-new task for Belarus. “There is a certain potential in the Healthcare Ministry, and in the Academy of Sciences. I am told that leading researchers and scientists in virology, immunology, genetics, cellular engineering are already working on that,” the head of state said.

In order to choose the most widespread strain of the virus for the production of the vaccine, scientists have studied the genetic variety of its strains. Three possible technologies of getting a vaccine prototype are being developed. The immunity dynamics in patients after the coronavirus pneumonia and the aspects of preserving the immune response are being analyzed.

It will help choose a major “target” for the production of the Belarusian vaccine, the president said. Researchers are also working on the technological process and are looking for the suppliers of equipment.

The second approach is to localize the production of foreign vaccines. Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about the state of affairs in this field – the terms, volumes, sources of financing, prospects, and the future of the joint project of Belfarmprom and Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

“However, whether or not we launch the production of the vaccine within a reasonable period of time, I want the society to know that the country will have enough vaccines, and that every person in Belarus will have access to them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, the most vulnerable population groups will be vaccinated in the first instance. These include elderly people, doctors, teachers, trade workers. “We will always find funds for that, we must do it,” he stressed.

The visit of the Minister of Culture of Belarus Anatoly Markevich took place to Vileika specialized secondary school for children with severe speech impairments on December 22 as part of the annual charitable action "Our Children" The department donated basketball and soccer balls to the pupils.

Among the guests were the chairman of the Vileika regional executive committee Oleg Begunets and the chairman of the regional organization "Belaya Rus" Sergei Pavlovsky. A gift from the regional executive committee - sweet treats.

Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the boarding school has lasted for over a quarter of a century. Over the years, the department has helped the institution with a material base: new televisions, musical equipment and computers have appeared in the boarding school. Also, with the support of the Ministry, the students went on educational excursions to the famous sights of the country.

The director of the institution, Vladimir Borisov, noted that the outgoing year 2020 was bright, dynamic and eventful and thanked the teachers and children for the work, which, he believes, has brought certain results.

- We are proud of the achievements of our students in education, in sports, and in creativity. And let the coming 2021 allow us to realize our plans, let all your dreams come true, - said the director of the boarding school.

- I catch myself thinking how quickly time flies, and we are already on the threshold of the most wonderful and magical holiday that leaves behind all hardships and difficulties, and let us have good health and prosperity ahead of us, and, of course, good mood, - the new one wished Minister of Culture Anatoly Markevich.

He noted that for each year 2020 has developed differently, "but most importantly, we managed to preserve and defend our country."

“Guys,” the minister addressed the children, “you are an integral part of our youth, and youth are the future. A little more time will pass, and you will have to solve difficult problems, raise Belarus to new heights. The state is doing everything to ensure that every child has a happy childhood. Conditions are created for self-realization, the disclosure of creativity and conditions for a calm and peaceful life. They say that on New Year's Eve everything always comes true. I would like to sincerely wish your dreams in 2021 to come true,” the minister said.

The head of the region, Oleg Begunets, joined in the congratulations.

- On New Year's Eve, everyone is waiting for a miracle, and I wish you all to come true.

By tradition, the culmination of the holiday was a theatrical performance with the participation of the main New Year's characters.

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.

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Aleksandr Guryanov has met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Belarus Armen Ghevondyan, BelTA learned from Belarus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The meeting took place on the occasion of completion of the ambassador's diplomatic mission in the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry informed.

At the meeting the parties discussed the main avenues of bilateral cooperation, including contacts between the ministries of foreign affairs of the two states.

More than 200 pupils of Minsk Regional Cadet School will dance to the sounds of a waltz and a polonaise at the ball, which will be held on December 23.

The event will become part of the program of the republican charitable action "Our Children". Deputy Director for Academic Affairs of the Minsk Regional Cadet School Tatyana Bletsko told BelTA about this. 

"Holding the ball is a tradition that has developed in cadet schools. We hold this festive event every year. All pupils are looking forward to it, they begin to prepare with a choreographer already in September. This year was no exception. 221 pupils of the school will take part in the dance event", - said Tatiana Bletsko.

The ball program is intense. It is planned that the couples will dance about 10 dances, including the Viennese waltz, polka, polonaise, padegras, paddespan and square dance. “Now the final rehearsals are underway. All movements are being honed, the last ballroom dresses are being tried on: girls will wear fluffy dresses, and boys will be in full dress,” said the deputy director. In addition to dancing, the program of the event includes traditional ball games and fun. Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden will create a festive mood for the pupils.

Tatyana Bletsko noted that most of the guys and girls who graduate from the cadet school later recall the preparation and holding of balls with warmth and gratitude. They gave many people the opportunity to get dance skills and taught them to confidently stand in front of the audience.

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.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Brazil Aleksandr Tserkovsky took part in a reception held for representatives of diplomatic missions, BelTA learned from the Belarusian embassy in Brazil.

The event for foreign ambassadors was held by Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ernesto Araujo.

During the meeting the Belarusian ambassador discussed the state of affairs between Belarus and Brazil with the representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The parties also discussed measures to intensify bilateral cooperation in 2021.

A solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the XVI National Competition "Golden Letter" was held in Minsk.

In 2020, the competition is held for the 16th time, initiated by the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus.

This year, a total of 400 applications were submitted by periodicals, news agencies and personalities. 269 are regional media from 81 editions, 108 applications are republican media of 31 editions, corporate - 23.

The winners and laureates of the "Golden Letter" Competition in 2020 were, among other things, the media of the Minsk region. In particular, in the nomination "The best materials for youth, children and youth topics" the winner was "Editorial office of the newspaper" Adzinstva "(series of publications).

First Deputy Minister of Information Pavel Legkiy presented awards to the winners and laureates.

The competition in 2020 was replenished with two new nominations - "Best analytical material" (journalistic investigation, problematic article, author's column, review) and "Best fictional and publicistic material" (feature, essay, feuilleton).

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.

Strengthening the integration mechanisms in the post-Soviet space is an inevitable necessity, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he spoke at the online CIS summit on 18 December, BelTA has learned.

“Strengthening the integration mechanisms in the post-Soviet space is not a matter of choice but an inevitable necessity. I believe that we can talk about the benefits only when we fully realize the potential of the CIS. This will be one of the main priorities of Belarus' Presidency in the CIS next year, if toda we adopt the appropriate decision, which has already been coordinated," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The president noted that Belarus will traditionally publish the concept of its presidency later, but said he will outline its main priorities now.

Development of the common economic space

"We intend to focus on strengthening the role of the CIS to improve the standards of living, on solving the problems caused by globalization and addressing the new challenges of our time," the head of state said.

Belarus plans to work to develop the common economic space, promote trade liberalization, minimize the number of restrictions and exemptions, remove technical barriers, unify the rules and procedures of public procurement, and to develop the common markets of goods and services.

Aligning integration in the CIS and the EAEU

Particular attention will be paid to the work on aligning the multi-level integration processes in the CIS and the EAEU. Aleksandr Lukashenko is confident that, given closer cooperation between the executive bodies of these two associations, the countries will be able to strengthen their ties. “At least we should not allow a situation where deeper integration in the Eurasian Economic Union will turn into some sort of a dividing line in the trade and economic relations of the five participating states and other CIS countries,” he stressed.

According to the president, the member states should also continue systematic and consistent improvement of the coordinated transport policy, the search for specific solutions to energy supplies. “We see the need to improve the efficiency of the CIS inter-sectoral bodies, aimed at intensifying investment activities, expanding production cooperation, and searching for common points of economic growth,” the head of state added.

The head of state recalled that many integration associations were set up in the post-Soviet space. There were proposals to discontinue some of them or to merge, but the countries did not go for it. “Integration construction was described as different-level integration. The highest level of integration has been achieved in the Union State of Belarus and Russia, the Eurasian Economic Union and the CIS. Back then we agreed that we would pull up the level of cooperation from the bottom up. We are talking about the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Union. We seek to achieve the level of interrogation in the CIS on par with the one in the EAEU,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, the member states should also continue systematic and consistent improvement of the coordinated transport policy, the search for specific solutions for energy supplies. “We see the need to improve the efficiency of the CIS inter-sectoral bodies, aimed at intensifying investment activities, expanding production cooperation, and searching for common points of economic growth,” the head of state added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled the proposal of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who invited CIS countries to take part in the restoration of settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the recent EAEU summit, the Russian side offered cooperation in the aviation industry, the Belarusian leader recalled. "This is exactly what we need today. This is something we are missing in both the EAEU and the CIS. We need something to keep us interested, to be bind to one another: then it will be very difficult to tear one state away from another,” the president stressed.

Strengthening humanitarian ties

Aleksandr Lukashenko believes it is also important to pursue a coordinated policy regarding technical regulations in standardization, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation, the use of sanitary and veterinary measures as a means to ensure the output of safe, high-quality and competitive products and services.

Belarus will traditionally pay close attention to strengthening humanitarian ties, expanding contacts in science, education, healthcare, information, culture, sport and tourism, work with young people, improving the image of the CIS in the international arena. During its presidency in the CIS, Belarus will also try to implement Uzbekistan's initiatives, which the country did not have time to implement in the outgoing year.

“Our strategic goal is to create a broad Eurasian zone of cooperation, and also to strengthen peace, friendship, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial relations in the region,” the president summarized.