Authorities in Uzbekistan have certified the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for mass use in the country, and measures are being taken to purchase 1 million doses of the drug, the Republican Special Commission on Coronavirus Control reported on Wednesday.
"The Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Russian Gamaleya Research Center has been certified and approved for mass use in Uzbekistan," the special commission said in a statement posted on the website of the national news agency UzA. According to the special commission, practical steps are now being taken to purchase 1 million doses of the vaccine.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has confirmed that the Sputnik V vaccine has been certified in Uzbekistan. "Sputnik V has been approved for use in 28 countries, symbolizing the tremendous success of Russian science and its significant contribution to saving millions of lives. Delivering the vaccine to Uzbekistan will be an important step in preventing coronavirus in the country," the foundation quoted CEO Kirill Dmitriev as saying.
Earlier, the Service for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health (SES) of Uzbekistan reported that vaccination against COVID-19 in Uzbekistan is scheduled to begin in the first half of March and 7 million people, or 20% of the population, will be vaccinated by the end of 2021, and 15 million doses of vaccines have been ordered from the world market.
The original plan was to vaccinate up to 60% of the country's population against COVID-19 by June 2021.
On February 11, the Deputy Head of the SES, Botyr Kurbanov, told RIA Novosti that the Uzbek side has begun accelerated certification of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus, a process that could take 15-20 days.
In early December last year, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov delivered 100 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to Tashkent. Russian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Vladimir Tyurdenev told reporters that Russia would deliver 1 million doses of Sputnik V to the republic for migrant workers, and a second Russian vaccine, Epivakkorona, is also expected to be contracted in 2021. In addition, the Uzbek side is negotiating with 12 manufacturers of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines under the COVAX mechanism, as well as conducting phase III trials of a recombinant vaccine from China's Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical in the country.
The Sputnik V vaccine has already been approved for use in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republic of Srpska ( the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Kazakhstan.
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Photo: Mikhail Japaridze / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti