Belarus Starts Vaccination of Population with Dubious Russian Medicine Sputnik V

The first batch of the vaccine has reached the country.

The first batch of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V has reached Belarus. The official telegram channel of the agency informs that the Ministry of Health announced the vaccination in the country.

- Today we start a new stage - mass vaccination against COVID-19. Health workers, teachers and those professionals with numerous contacts with people will be vaccinated first. Vaccination will be voluntary," said Health Minister Dzmitry Pinevich.

He adds that Belarus has created a system of vaccine storage to keep the vaccine cold. Special medical freezing equipment has been purchased to transport the vaccine.

The head of the Belarusian Health Ministry thanked the Russian side "for the active cooperation and strategic collaboration in solving this issue".

Director General of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said that Belarus was the first foreign country to officially register the vaccine.

- Today Belarus has also become the first country to start a large-scale vaccination with Sputnik V. The the organisation of production of the finished form of the vaccine in Belarus, which significantly simplifies logistics, speeds up the pace of vaccination and expands the prevention of the disease is the next stage of cooperation between RDIF and partners.