The vaccine will first be available to doctors and other healthcare professionals, teachers and social workers as they run the greatest risk of becoming infected.

- You work at an educational institution and are prioritized for the covid vaccine, free of charge, read a text message that a preschool teacher in Moscow received early on Saturday morning and which Reuters received.

Moscow is the epicenter of coronary heart disease in Russia, with nearly 8,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, nearly 1,000 more than the previous day, according to Russian authorities.

Russia as a whole reported about 29,000 new cases on Saturday, the highest daily record ever.

In total, the country has 2.4 million infected, the fourth highest number in the world.

Queues outside the clinics

According to Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobjanin, 5,000 Moscow residents registered to receive their first dose of vaccine during the first hours of Saturday, and already on Saturday morning, queues began to form outside the vaccination clinics, reports AFP.

- I want to be able to go to the gym and live my life normally again, says Sergei Buslajev, a 42-year-old insurance official.

No vaccine for people over 60 years

However, the Russians' access to vaccines is limited as the authorities have set a limit of 60 years to receive the vaccine.

Nor do people with underlying diseases, pregnant women and people who have been on a respirator at any time during the past two weeks currently receive a vaccine.

Controversial vaccine strategy

Russia has developed two different vaccines - Sputnik V, which is funded by Russian venture capitalists, and a vaccine developed by the Siberian Vector Institute.

However, both vaccines have not yet been fully tested but are still in the third and final phase of clinical trials involving around 40,000 volunteers.

The Russian vaccine strategy is consequently also being debated.

Researchers have questioned whether Russian authorities have given the green light to their vaccines and started mass vaccination before all tests have ensured the vaccine's safety and effectiveness.

Sweden's vaccine coordinator, Richard Bergström, says that the vaccine has been approved only based on small tests on young people and the military without reference groups, which has surprised many in the research world.

- I and my scientific advisers are a little confused about what is going on, he says to Swedish Radio.