Russia to register Sputnik M COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 17

Moscow [Russia], November 24 : Russia's Health Ministry will register the Sputnik vaccine for children aged 12-17 on Wednesday, with shots expected to be available at the end of December.
"Russia's Health Ministry will register Sputnik vaccine for children aged 12-17 today. Sputnik M vaccine for children will be a welcome member in the Sputnik family both in Russia and in global markets," Sputnik V said in a tweet.
Russia has been grappling with a surge in coronavirus infections and related deaths in recent weeks.
The country has registered 33,558 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest number since October 16, with the total number of infections reaching 9,434,393 cases, according to data of the anti-coronavirus crisis center published on Wednesday.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) expects that the inspection of the World Health Organization (WHO) will visit Russia in December as part of the work on the recognition of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
"The Russian Health Ministry is now in dialogue with the WHO, we expect an inspection in December and we see some positive progress," Dmitriev said at a briefing on Wednesday, reported a Russian news agency.
In early October, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that all barriers to the recognition of the Sputnik V vaccine in the WHO had been removed, and some administrative procedures remained. Later, Dmitriev noted that the fund was awaiting approval from the WHO in the next couple of months.