Covdi-19: from the Philippines to India, the good deals of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in Asia
According to the Russian sovereign wealth fund, 52 countries around the world have already licensed the Sputnik-V vaccine.
REUTERS - SERGEY PIVOVAROV
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The Russian Sovereign Fund (RDIF) announced on Friday March 19 that it had reached an agreement with an Indian pharmaceutical group to produce at least 200 million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik-V against the coronavirus there.
He had announced earlier the same day the approval of the vaccine by the Philippines.
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In quick succession, on March 19, the Russian Sovereign Fund (RDIF) announced the approval of the Russian anti-Covid-19 Sputnik V vaccine in the Philippines, then a few hours later the signing of an agreement to produce 200 million doses in India.
The Philippines hopes to vaccinate 70 million people this year.
More than a million doses of the vaccines developed by Sinovac and AstraZeneca have been delivered to the archipelago over the past two weeks.
"
The Philippines were among the first countries to take an interest in the Sputnik vaccine after its approval in Russia,
" said RDIF director Kirill Dmitriev.
The country is facing an upsurge in cases of coronavirus infections and on March 18 announced the closure of borders to foreigners.
More than 630,000 people there have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and nearly 13,000 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19.
Most of these cases are in the capital and its region, where targeted lockdowns, night curfews have been ordered, while children are prohibited from leaving their homes.
200 million doses will be produced in India
The RDIF, which partially financed the development of the vaccine, also indicated that it had joined forces with a subsidiary of the Indian pharmaceutical group Strides to produce from the third quarter of 2021 a minimum of 200 million doses of Sputnik-V, sufficient to vaccinate 100 million people.
Approved in 52 countries according to the RDIF,
the Russian vaccine Sputnik V was initially greeted with skepticism abroad
.
In Asia, it has notably been approved by countries as different as Laos, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Burma and Mongolia.
Its reliability was finally validated in February by the scientific journal
The Lancet
.
► See also: Vaccine against Covid-19: Sputnik V attacked, Moscow defends itself
(With agencies)
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