Armenia holds talks with Russia on production of Sputnik V vaccine

YEREVAN, April 12. /TASS/. The Armenian government is conducting talks with Russian partners in order to organize production of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan stated at a press conference on Monday.

“The Economy Ministry is conducting talks with our partners (from Russia – TASS) in order to begin producing the Sputnik V vaccine in Armenia. Yet this should involve a professional industrial infrastructure. I hope that our pharmaceutical companies will invest in this sphere in order to open joint production,” she noted.

The first batch of 15,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus was delivered to Armenia on Thursday morning. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the Russia-1 TV channel that Yerevan needs approximately one million doses of this preparation.

A quarantine has been in effect in Armenia since September 11, 2020. A mask regime has been introduced in the country, while all institutions, shopping centers and restaurants remain open and public transportation continues to function. In the middle of March, the Armenian prime minister stated that the situation with the spread of the infection in the country was serious and urged the population to observe anti-epidemic norms with greater vigilance. Recently, the daily growth of the infections has been surpassing 1,000. According to the latest data, the number of coronavirus infections in Armenia has reached 203,327 (approximately 7% of residents), with 3,753 fatalities.

Earlier, Russia had shipped to Armenia a batch of the Sputnik V preparation which allowed to launch vaccination of healthcare workers involved in the fight against the coronavirus on March 11. According to the latest data, as many as 600 people have already been inoculated. On March 28, the republic also received a first batch of 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within the framework of the COVAX mechanism.