The Latest: Poland sends vaccines for its diplomats in India

The Latest: Poland sends vaccines for its diplomats in India

Poland is sending vaccines this week to have its diplomats in India immunized against COVID-19

By The Associated Press

April 26, 2021, 11:37 AM

• 12 min read

People queue up for COVID-19 vaccine in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 26, 2021. New infections are rising faster in India than any other place in the world, stunning authorities and capsizing its fragile health system. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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WARSAW, Poland — Poland is sending vaccines this week to have its diplomats in India immunized against COVID-19.

A Polish diplomat was evacuated Sunday from New Delhi in serious condition, together with his sick pregnant wife and four children, and brought to hospitals in Warsaw.

The government official in charge of the inoculation program, Michal Dworczyk, said Monday that the plane that went to transport the family brought supplies of oxygen and related equipment to the Polish Embassy in India and that some of these supplies have already been shared with other diplomatic missions in New Delhi, where some diplomats are sick. He didn’t specify the missions.

The evacuated family, which wasn’t identified, was placed in two different COVID-19 hospitals in Warsaw. Officials said Sunday the evacuation was necessary because the diplomat required hospitalization, which wasn’t available in India. They will all be tested for the variant of the coronavirus that they are infected with.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Mass funeral pyres, overwhelmed crematoriums reflect India’s health care crisis amid record virus surge

— Virus surge in crowded Gaza threatens to overwhelm hospitals weakened by conflict, border closures

— Italy’s gradual reopening after six months of rotating virus closures is satisfying no one: Too cautious for some, too hasty for others

— France reopens schools as virus patients numbers peak

— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

ISTANBUL — Russia has signed an agreement with a Turkish biopharmaceutical company to begin producing its Sputnik V vaccine in Turkey.

In a joint statement, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Viscoran Ilac announced the deal. Viscoran aims to start production in the coming months in several facilities, according to the statement.

Sputnik V is Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine using the viral vector technology. The vaccine can be stored in refrigerators and is administered in two-doses.

“We are very pleased to have contributed to such a valuable product that is discussed in the international arena,” Viscoran CEO Ozturk Oran said.

Turkey is currently using the Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines and has administered around 21.4 million doses. But the speed of vaccinations has slowed and infections have soared. A partial lockdown was reimposed earlier this month to fight the spread.

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ROME — Much of Italy is reopening after weeks of strict coronavirus lockdowns, with museums welcoming the public and bars and restaurants open for outdoor, sit-down service.

Despite appeals for social distancing, public transport in Rome and Milan was jammed as high schools were allowed to operate at least 70% in-person learning starting Monday.

Restaurant workers who have been home for weeks got an early start setting up their tables and sweeping the cobblestones to welcome their first customers.

At Rome’s Capitoline Museums, visitors marveled that they had the place to themselves given tourists usually overwhelm the museum and its picturesque piazza overlooking the Roman Forum.

Art student Giorgio Salemme said the reduction was good for the visitor and the art. He said: “We are avoiding the usual over-crowding where you see that everyone is trying to devour everything as quickly as possible without appreciating it.”

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WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s official in charge of the country’s vaccination program said that about 1.5% of registered people didn’t show up for vaccination in April and he linked that with an action by vaccine opponents.

Michal Dworczyk said Monday the government was aware of the anti-vaccination action on social media where people were urged not to show up for their shots.

Dworczyk played its range down, saying the percentage of no-shows was small and didn’t affect the pace of national immunization.