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Russia donates Sputnik Light vaccine to Laos

The Ministry of Health has welcomed a donation of 30,000 doses of the Sputnik Light vaccine from the Russian Embassy to assist Laos’ efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.
The Russian-made vaccine was handed over on October 6 by Russian Embassy staff headed by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Laos, Mr Vladimir Kalinin, to Minister of Health Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with other ministry officials.

Russia donated the vaccine to Laos as a humanitarian gesture. The shipment was delivered to Vientiane on a special aircraft organised by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, according to a press release from the Russian Embassy.
Ambassador Kalinin said the Russian Federation attached great importance to the provision of aid aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Laos, as the country is a reliable partner and friend of Russia.
The ambassador said 70 countries that are home to half of the world’s population have approved the use of the Sputnik V vaccine and a number of Asian countries, including India and Vietnam, have begun production of the vaccine. China and the Republic of Korea are expected to proceed to mass production of the vaccine by the end of this year.
Russia delivered a previous shipment of vaccine to Laos in January along with other supplies to support the response to the Covid outbreak, such as reagents for virus tests developed by the Vector Biological Research Centre and protective masks.
The consignment of Sputnik Light vaccine arrived in Laos on September 22, in response to a request from the Lao government.
The Lao health regulator, the Food and Drug Department of the Ministry of Health, has registered Sputnik V, giving the green light for its use the same as other vaccines, a senior official from the ministry’s Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion said.
The government plans to vaccinate 50 percent of the seven-million-plus population by the end of this year, and to raise the number of people vaccinated to 70 percent next year.



By Times Reporters
  (Latest Update October 11, 2021)



 


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