Deputy Minister of Health of Belarus Alexander Tarasenko said that vaccination with the Russian drug Sputnik V against coronavirus could begin as early as 2021. The chief state sanitary doctor said this on the air of the Belarus 1 TV channel, RIA Novosti reports.
According to him, a preliminary decision to start vaccination next year is already available. The deputy minister stressed that, first of all, medical workers, teachers and law enforcement officers will be vaccinated. Tarasenko also added that it is desirable to vaccinate at least 1.8 million residents of the country, or even two million.
Earlier, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed to study the possibility of producing a Russian vaccine against coronavirus in Belarus. He instructed his assistant Alexander Kosinets to deal with this issue “without noise and dust.
The world’s first Russian vaccine against coronavirus was developed by the Gamaleya Center, Putin announced its registration on August 11, production began on August 15. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin have already been vaccinated.
The second Russian vaccine against COVID-19 – EpiVacCorona – is produced by the Vector Center. Its clinical trials ended on September 30, and on October 14, the Russian leader announced its registration. The production of the drug began on October 27.
The Chumakov Center is developing the third vaccine against coronavirus. It is whole-virion, it uses either weakened or killed viruses that are unable to cause infectious diseases.