Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that no cases of coronavirus infection have been registered in the country thanks to Russian vaccines.
"We are very grateful to the Russian Federation. As of today, there is no pandemic registered in Turkmenistan, and I want to say it is thanks to the Russian Federation. We were among the first to register both Sputnik V and Epivaccorona. Today our population is vaccinated with Sputnik V and Epivaccorona, and just a few days ago we received Sputnik Light, which is also available as a booster vaccination," Berdymukhamedov said at the informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
Berdymukhamedov also noted that methodological assistance is needed, and it would be good "if Russia centralized its instructions and manuals for the study of bacteriology and virology."
Turkmenistan remains the only state in the former Soviet Union where no cases of coronavirus infection have been officially recorded. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the authorities of the republic have imposed severe restrictions on entry and international air travel, as well as a face mask regime. In early July the country launched a campaign of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for all residents over 18 years of age. Russian vaccines Sputnik V and Epivaccorona, as well as the Chinese drug CoronaVac, are used for this purpose.
On December 22, the head of Turkmenistan reiterated that no cases of coronavirus infection had been detected in the country and instructed "to intensify preventive measures" as new strains of the infection appear in many countries.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS