Second lot of Russia's coronavirus vaccine --Sputnik V-- underway for public use
The second batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 for public use is already being produced by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the head of the institute Alexander Gintsburg told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Gintsburg stated that each batch of the vaccine must first gain approval from federal healthcare authorities i.e. Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Rosdravnadzor) before being distributed to the population.
"The second batch is already being produced, it is going through Rosdravnadzor's control. Rosdravnadzor controls every batch," Alexander Gintsburg said.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Health Ministry said that the first batch of the vaccine was released into civil circulation.
In August, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine against COVID-19.
The vaccine is a two-component treatment based on the human adenovirus, which, according to scientists, makes people develop immunity to the virus for at least two years.
After registration, at least 20 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico, Brazil and India, have expressed their interest in obtaining the vaccine.
