Russia’s Sputnik V is over 90 percent effective

	World breaking news today (November 10): Pfizer, BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine proves 90 percent effective
	COVID-19 Updates (November 9): Vietnam records no new COVID-19 case
	Annual Vietnam Festival in Japan opens in Tokyo

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine shows 90 percent effective in COVID-19 treatment (Photo: Reuters)

"We are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine among citizens who have received it as part of the mass vaccination programme," Oksana Drapkina, director of a research institute under the health ministry, said in a statement.

"Based on our observations, it is also more than 90 per cent. The appearance of another effective vaccine - this is good news for everyone," Drapkina said.

Russia reported a record high of 21,798 new COVID-19 infections on Monday as the authorities called for stricter measures to contain the coronavirus in certain regions.

"It is necessary to strengthen restrictions and control over their implementation in the regions where the daily case load and the infection is spreading at rates significantly higher than the average Russian levels," Anna Popova, head of Russia's consumer health watchdog, told Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at a televised meeting with government officials.

She said the regions where restrictions should be increased include the Far Eastern Magadan and Sakhalin regions, as well as the Arkhangelsk and Ulyanovsk regions, among others.

She added that in some regions - including the Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia regions in the North Caucasus, and the Penza region - more than half of the population did not wear masks on public transport and at shopping malls.

In recent months Russian authorities have said harsh restrictions are not needed and have stressed the importance of hygiene and safety precautions.

President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia does not plan to impose blanket restrictions or a national lockdown to curb the surge in coronavirus cases after having done so earlier in the pandemic. He said Russia would instead impose targeted measures if needed.

Earlier in early October, Russia gave regulatory approval to a second Covid-19 vaccine, named ‘EpiVacCorona’, after early-stage studies. The new coronavirus vaccine comes two months after a similar move for Russia’s first vaccine Sputnik V prompted widespread criticism from scientists both at home and abroad.

A new vaccine is on display at the Nikolai Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Russia. (AP)

Special police force goes through the 37th ASEAN Summit rehearsal Vietnam's special police force exercised a security rehearsal for the 37th ASEAN Summit, despite this event sets to be held online.

COVID-19 Updates (November 11): Another new imported case in Bac Ninh A Vietnamese citizen entering the country from Angola is the lastest COVID-19 case reported.

Ukrainian President tests positive for COVID-19 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced Monday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be working in self-isolation while being treated.