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Russia sees over 50,000 COVID-19 cases for 2nd day running

People wait to undergo a free rapid antigen test for the coronavirus disease at a testing center in the GUM, State Department store in Moscow on Jan 31, 2022. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)

MOSCOW – Russia recorded more than 50,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the second day running on Saturday, the government's coronavirus task force said.

Over the last 24 hours, 51,699 cases were detected across Russia – the most in a single day since March 9.

On Friday, Russia's caseload passed the 50,000 mark for the first time in almost six months. 

Infections rose in July and August as new highly-transmissible variants of the coronavirus swept across the country.

The task force said 92 people had died with COVID-19 over the last 24 hours.

Britain

Britain's medicines regulator on Saturday approved Pfizer/BioNTech's updated bivalent COVID-19 booster shot for people aged 12 years and older.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the decision was based on data from a clinical trial that showed a booster dose with the bivalent Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine triggers a strong immune response against both the Omicron and the original strain.

In this file photo taken on Jan 10, 2022, a health worker shows a vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus disease COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Santiago. (JAVIER TORRES / AFP)

Pfizer and BioNTech

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have filed proceedings at the High Court of England and Wales, seeking a judgment that their COVID-19 vaccine, based on mRNA technology, does not infringe on CureVac's European patents, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

In July, CureVac had filed a patent lawsuit against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology, seeking fair compensation from the company and two subsidiaries for infringement of its intellectual properly rights.

Pfizer and BioNTech later filed a complaint with a U..district court, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe US patents held by CureVac.

Pfizer and BioNTech are also facing patent infringement lawsuits from other companies.

Last month, rival mRNA vaccine maker Moderna filed a patent lawsuit against the companies related to their COVID-19 shot