Russia’s Gamaleya Center: Venezuela on February Mass Vaccination List
Kirill Dmitriev, Executive Director of the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, reported yesterday that a massive immunization campaign with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will start this week, and will assist at least 12 countries, including Venezuela.
In a statement signed with the Gamaleya National Center for Research in Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, it is explained that the list of countries where the campaign will begin also includes Bolivia, Paraguay, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Armenia, Algeria, the Republika Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Iran.
President Nicolás Maduro recently stated that the Sputnik V vaccine had been approved, “because we did the tests in Venezuela and it was 100 percent effective, and fortunately did not cause any problems.”
Efficiency of more than 91%
The prestigious medical journal The Lancet has published preliminary results of the phase III trial of Sputnik V, which shows that it has no serious side effects and is effective for all age groups.
According to interim results released Tuesday, data from 19,866 volunteers—of whom 4,902 were in the placebo group—showed that Sputnik V has an overall efficacy of 91.6 percent, which increased to 91.8 percent among the group of 2,144 volunteers over 60 years of age.
1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine
As reported by the Head of Mission of the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the country, Paolo Balladelli, more than 1.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been reserved for Venezuela through the COVAX mechanism.
On his Twitter account, Balladelli confirmed that, “Venezuela has access to vaccines in the COVAX mechanism. Between 1,425,000 and 2,409,600 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been reserved that should arrive at the end of February. It is essential to have the support of all forces and proceed to pay before February 9.”
Featured image: In February, 12 countries including Venezuela will apply the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in massive vaccination operations. File photo.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/OH
