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In more than 50 countries, most of them wealthy, coronavirus vaccination efforts are well underway, with some 20 million doses already distributed in the United States alone. But most poorer nations have yet to even begin. World Health Organization officials said last week that the West African nation of Guinea is the only low-income country of 29 to begin vaccinating. And those efforts have been limited in scope — just 55 people out of the population of more than 12 million have received doses so far. (Taylor and Paquette, 1/26)

COVID-19 vaccination programmes in China and India will stretch until late 2022 due to the sheer size of their population, and more than 85 poor countries will not have widespread access to vaccines before 2023, a study showed on Wednesday. (1/27)

Mexico said Tuesday it is close to granting approval for Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, with lots of spy drama but little public data available. The approval process described by Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico’s assistant health secretary, sounded like a Cold War spy thriller, and may not foment confidence in the shot. (Stevenson, 1/27)

Mexico continued to post near-record rates of coronavirus deaths Tuesday, and the huge demand for oxygen canisters has led to frauds, robberies and other crimes against families trying to care for relatives at home. Mexico posted a near-record 1,743 newly confirmed COVID-deaths, bringing the total to over 152,000, and 7,165 new infections. Hospitals in some parts of Mexico are almost 90% full, forcing families to treat their relatives at home. But the oxygen tanks they rely on have been the object of thefts, hijackings and fraud. (1/27)

The coronavirus pandemic is on the decline in Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Wednesday as he abolished some COVID-19 restrictions, allowing bars, restaurants and nightclubs to open overnight. New COVID-19 cases in the Russian capital have not exceeded 3,000 in the past week and more than 50% of beds in coronavirus hospitals were vacant for the first time since mid-June, Sobyanin wrote on his personal blog. (1/27)

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro appears to be counting on yet another “miracle” to save his citizens from COVID-19, promoting a secretive solution with no published scientific evidence he claims will conquer the new coronavirus. “Ten drops under the tongue every four hours and the miracle is done,” Maduro said in a televised appearance on Sunday. “It’s a powerful antiviral, very powerful, that neutralizes the coronavirus.” (Smith and Rueda, 1/26)