Russia to supply Egypt with 25m doses of coronavirus vaccine

A nurse prepares to inoculate volunteer with Russia’s new coronavirus vaccine in a post-registration trials at a clinic in Moscow on 10 September 2020. [NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images]

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) yesterday announced that it had agreed to supply Egypt with 25 million doses of its Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine through Pharco, one of the leading pharmaceutical groups in Egypt.

RDIF, Russia’s national wealth fund, said in a statement that the agreement will support the Egyptian Ministry of Health’s efforts to provide 25 per cent of the Egyptian population with a vaccine against the coronavirus, adding that more vaccines will be distributed to neighbouring countries in the future.

Last week, RDIF said Russia received requests to export more than one billion doses of its Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine to other countries.

In August, Russia became the first country in the world to register and start producing a vaccine against the coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has, however, not approved the vaccine since it has not completed phase 3 trials which are perceived as crucial to guarantee efficiency and safety.

READ: UAE announces emergency approval for use of COVID-19 vaccine

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