CHISINAU, February 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has received approval from the authorities of Moldova and can be used on the territory of the republic, the leader of Moldova’s largest parliamentary force, Party of Socialists and former President Igor Dodon announced in his Telegram channel on Friday.

"A few minutes ago, the Russian vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V was officially registered in the republic of Moldova. The drug will be delivered to Moldova very soon," Dodon wrote.

"Residents of our country will have access to the vaccine, which is used in almost 40 countries, including European ones, and is considered by experts to be highly effective and safe," the former president said.

Earlier, the AstraZeneca vaccine was registered in Moldova. It is expected that the republic will receive the first 14,400 doses of this drug with the assistance of the mechanism of global access to COVID-19 vaccines (COVAX) from February 28 to March 3.

Under the national coronavirus vaccination program, at the first stage, health workers will be vaccinated, then it will be the turn of senior citizens and civil servants and at the third stage the rest of the population will get the vaccine.

COVAX is an international initiative within the World Health Organization to contribute to the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Under the terms of the program, high-income countries pay for vaccines for lower income ones. Thanks to this mechanism, 92 countries will be able to receive funds to combat the spread of the coronavirus on preferential terms.