Moscow, June 29: Russian health officials have approved booster shots for those vaccinated against COVID-19 six months after their first dose. On Tuesday, 20,616 new infections were registered and 652 deaths - the highest daily death toll in the pandemic.

Russia's health minister Mikhail Murashko told a government meeting Tuesday the ministry has updated its vaccination guidelines. It allows those who contracted the coronavirus to get vaccinated six months after they recovered and those who have been immunised to get booster shots six months after their first vaccination. AstraZeneca Tests COVID-19 Booster Shots Against Beta-Variant.

Russia's state coronavirus task force has been reporting more than 20,000 new infections daily since last Thursday, more than double the average in early June.

Russia was among the first globally to announce and deploy a coronavirus vaccine last year but has since inoculated only a fraction of its 146 million people. Murashko says more than 23 million - just over 15% - have received at least one dose.

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