ALMATY: Kazakhstan plans to vaccinate about 6 million people, or almost a third of its population, against the coronavirus this year, healthcare minister Alexei Tsoy said on Tuesday.

Vaccinations will begin on Feb.1, with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine being offered to medical workers, he told a government meeting. Kazakhstan also aims to produce Sputnik V at home.

The central Asian nation bordering China and Russia has confirmed about 217,000 cases of COVID-19 and pneumonia probably caused by the virus, with 2,965 deaths.