Russian has begun vaccinating servicemen of its military base deployed in Tajikistan against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
According to information from the press center of Russian 201st Military Base deployed in Tajikistan, the coronavirus vaccination campaign among the Russian military personnel deployed in Tajikistan began on January 20.
Recall, a first consignment of doses of Sputnik V vaccine (totaling 1,100 doses) arrived in Tajikistan for servicemen of Russian military base deployed here on January 19.
Health workers of the 451st military hospital, military personnel on duty as well as the base command and duty forces are receiving the vaccine first.
Military personnel are reportedly being vaccinated on a voluntary basis.
The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is Russia's largest non-naval military facility outside the country. It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.
A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are now stationed at two military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base – in Dushanbe and Bokhtar (formerly Qurghon Teppa, some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe.
Recall, Interfax said that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on November 27, 2020 that Russia's military has launched a coronavirus vaccination campaign among nearly 400,000 of its active-duty personnel. “More than 2,500 Russian soldiers have been vaccinated so far, projecting that number to go up to 80,000 by the end of 2020,” the minister said.
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu himself reportedly received the Sputnik V vaccine in September 2020.
