Russia to distribute over 1mn Sputnik V shots at home by year-end

MOSCOW: Russia will have supplied more than 1 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V to its own national inoculation programme by the end of this year, a government minister said on Wednesday.

Russia, which began rolling out the vaccine in early December, has so far produced over 2 million doses in total, Industry Minister Denis Manturov told state television.

The Sputnik V vaccine is administered in two doses, which use different components, 21 days apart.

The current production rate will allow the vaccine to be rolled out across Russia's regions and be exported to other countries at the same time, Manturov said.

Russia sent 300,000 doses of the vaccine to Argentina last week, causing frustration at home, with some people arguing that more shots should be made available at home..

Authorities on Wednesday reported 26,513 new daily coronavirus cases, including 5,105 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 3,131,550 - the fourth highest in the world.

Russia also said that 599 people had died in the last 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 56,426, though excess mortality data suggests the actual figure is around triple that.