Russia's Virus Toll Mounts As Daily Fatalities Hit Yet Another High

Russia hit another new daily record for COVID-19 fatalities on Wednesday.

According to latest official data, 984 more deaths over the past day raised the overall count to 219,329.

New infections stood at 28,717, raising the number of active cases to 726,266 and the total caseload above 7.86 million.

Recoveries increased by 21,801 to reach 6.91 million.

Experts link the growing number of COVID-19 deaths to the lax vaccination coverage in Russia, where some 43 million people, or 30.71%, have been fully vaccinated – less than half of the figure needed for herd immunity.

Another factor is the onset of winter and the flu-like illnesses that it brings along.

Russia, EU vaccination recognition

Russian officials held a meeting with European Union representatives to discuss mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccines, the country's Health Ministry said.

The two sides agreed to hold a series of expert consultations to iron out the main legal and technical parameters for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, read a ministry statement.

"These measures are aimed at creating conditions for the free movement of Russians in the EU and vice versa," the ministry added.​​​​​​​ -