Russia Has Pandemic Daily Death High, Orders Workers Home For A Week

AP: Russians To Stay Off Work For A Week As Virus Deaths Rise 
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week later this month amid rising COVID-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government coronavirus task force reported 1,028 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. That brought Russia's death toll to 226,353, by far the highest in Europe. (10/20)

Axios: India Hits 1 Billion COVID Vaccinations Milestone 
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Thursday that the country's health workers have now administered more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines doses. While this is a significant milestone for the country of 1.4 billion, which has been devastated by the coronavirus, only about 30% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated against the virus, per AP. Roughly 75% has received at least one dose. (10/21)

In covid updates from Europe —

Bloomberg: NHS Chair Says Young May Be Infecting Old In U.K. Covid Surge
Amid concern that a new twist on the delta variant could be driving the current U.K. coronavirus surge, National Health Service chair David Prior said it’s more likely that school-aged children are infecting older people whose vaccine-induced immunity is on the wane. “It’s too early to say, but that’s what we think is the most likely explanation,” Prior said Tuesday evening in an interview at a Boston health conference. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted on Sunday that “urgent research” was needed to determine if the new delta variant AY.4 -- which represents 8% of recently sequenced cases in the U.K. -- was more transmissible and better at evading immune defenses. (Goldberg, 10/20)

CNN: New Delta Descendant Is Rising In The UK. Here's What To Know 
British and international authorities are closely monitoring a subtype of the Delta variant that is causing a growing number of infections in the United Kingdom. This descendant of the Delta variant, known as AY.4.2, accounted for an estimated 6% of cases in the week of September 27 -- the last week with complete sequencing data -- and is "on an increasing trajectory," a report by the UK Health Security Agency said. Little is known about AY.4.2. Some experts have suggested it could be slightly more transmissible than the original Delta variant, though that has not yet been confirmed. While it accounts for a growing number of infections, it is not yet classified in the UK as a "variant of concern." (John, 10/20)

In other health news from the U.K. —

Stat: U.K. To Launch New System For Registering Clinical Trials Automatically
In its latest bid to boost clinical trial transparency, the U.K. government will automatically register new studies with an independent registry, a move that is designed to lessen reliance on companies, universities, and researchers for up-to-date submissions. The effort will begin in January 2022 as a partnership between the Health Research Authority and ISRCTN, a registry in London that is part of a World Health Organization network of globally recognized trial registries. Trial registrations will be based on ethics committee approvals for all new studies from around the country, which are centrally housed with the HRA. (Silverman, 10/20)

The Washington Post: U.K. To Check Social Media And Medical Records Of Gun License Applicants
Britain’s first mass shooting in more than a decade occurred in August. Just over two months later, London is requiring British police to check medical records and in some cases delve into applicants’ social media history before issuing gun licenses. Jake Davison killed five people including his mother and a 3-year-old girl in a shooting rampage in the southwestern seaside city of Plymouth in August, before taking his own life. The attack stunned a nation where gun violence is rare. (Pannett, 10/21)

The Hill: UK Sees Increase In Women Being 'Needle Spiked' With Date Rape Drugs
The United Kingdom has seen a disturbing increase in women being injected with "spiked needles" filled with date rape drugs, often at nightclubs in cities with large student populations, according to reports from BBC News. The spate of incidents has left women in the U.K. "terrified of going out" and has spurred to a petition with 150,000 signatures asking the U.K. government to make searching guests at bars a legal requirement, the BBC reported. (Breslin, 10/20)