Bahraini authorities have authorised the use of a booster dose of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first time the Russian shot has been approved for a third dose, the state-run Bahrain News Agency said on Saturday.
The booster shot was approved for use among all over-18s at least six months after receiving their second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, the news agency reported.
Bahrain has already approved third booster shots using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The small island nation's COVID-19 infections are decreasing, currently at 3% of their peak with 95 new infections reported on average each day, according to the Reuters COVID-19 Tracker.
There have been 272,709 infections and 1,388 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Bahrain, which has a population of roughly 1.7 million according to the World Bank.
So far nearly 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, enough to inoculate about 76% of the population, assuming each person needs two doses.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday that "a whole civilization will die tonight," threatening a dramatic escalation of the US-Israeli war, as his deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz neared.
China and Russia on Tuesday vetoed a UN resolution encouraging states to coordinate efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the measure biased against Iran, while Washington's ambassador to the world body called on "responsible nations" to join the US in securing the waterway.
US strikes on Iran's Kharg Island do not represent a change in American strategy, US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday as a US official separately told Reuters the additional strikes on military targets did not impact oil infrastructure.
One attacker was killed and two others were wounded in an extended gun battle with police outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to authorities and Reuters witnesses.
US Vice President JD Vance lashed out on Tuesday at what he called "disgraceful" interference from the European Union in an election in Hungary, as he lauded Prime Minister Viktor Orban as an ally of Donald Trump in the defence of Western civilisation.
Broadcasting every weekday, Georgia Tolley goes beyond the headlines to speak to government ministers, decision makers, analysts and local experts to find out how the news will impact those of us living in the UAE.
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