First Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population, Ghafour Muhsinzoda, yesterday had a virtual meeting with representatives of the Russian Direct Investment Fund to discuss the possibility of supplying Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine to Tajikistan.
The press center of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP) says there were the first talks on registration and supply of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine.
The Russian vaccine is expected to be supplied to Tajikistan after registration, the MoHSPP press center said.
Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine for COVID-19 developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Registered on August 11, 2020 by the Russian Ministry of Health as Gam-COVID-Vac
Gam-COVID-Vac was initially approved for distribution in Russia on the preliminary results of Phase I–II studies eventually published on September 4, 2020. The quick approval in early August of Gam-COVID-Vac was met with criticism in mass media and precipitated discussions in the scientific community whether this decision was justified in the absence of robust scientific research confirming the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. However, on February 2, 2021, an interim analysis from the trial was published in The Lancet, indicating 91.6% efficacy without unusual side effects.
Emergency mass-distribution of the vaccine began in December 2020 in multiple countries including Russia, Argentina, Belarus, Hungary, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates. By February 2021 over a billion doses of the vaccine had been ordered for immediate distribution globally.
Recall, India on March 8 delivered to Tajikistan 192,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India. The vaccines arrived as part of India's commitment made to the world to use India's vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of the human fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Tajikistan expected to receive 624000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines by May through COVAX.
Besides, China is expected to deliver 150,000 doses of CoronaVac vaccine to Tajikistan within the next few days.
The COVID-19 vaccination reportedly began in Tajikistan on March 23.
According to the Tajik health authorities, 20 percent of the population of Tajikistan are planned to be vaccinated with Astra-Zeneca. At first, the priority groups of the population will be vaccinated: those who aged above 70, health workers, customs officers and border guards. At the second stage, people aged above 60 will be vaccinated, and after them, those aged above 50 will be vaccinated. People will receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccine with a two-month interval.
The remaining 42.5 percent of the population will receive other vaccines that will be acquired by Tajikistan
