NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 20. /TASS/. Russian Minister of Healthcare Mikhail Murashko is asked to consider acceleration of coronavirus vaccine registration procedure and import of drug manufacturing equipment, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at the meeting on the sanitary-epidemiological situation.
The minister was requested by the head of state to systematize all the proposals made at the meeting by Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya National Epidemiology and Microbiology Research Center. "This also pertains to the speedup of permitting procedures, through Roszdrav [Russian healthcare surveillance service — TASS] and to all other administrative [procedures], including the customs ones, when importing required equipment," Putin noted.
The president added that his assignment also covers the need for allocating extra funds and resources to start producing the vaccine. Authorities will provide all the required support, Putin said. "We will endeavor to expedite all the required administrative procedures and if required, and as I understand, such a need exists — to increase extra resources," he added.
Vaccination of medics
Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the idea to vaccinate medics against the coronavirus infection in the first place as soon as a vaccine is developed.
The idea was voiced by Elena Tsyganova, a specialist for infectious diseases at Moscow’s Healthcare Department, at a meeting on the epidemic situation in the country.
"I think it goes without saying. First of all, it is necessary to protect medical personnel because these people are on the frontline," Putin said.