MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Vaccination against the novel coronavirus has begun in all regions of Russia, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Tuesday.

"The vaccine has been delivered to all regions of Russia. Vaccination has begun. Before that we carried out test supplies to see how the logistic chains work. All regions are ready to get the vaccine and start using it," Murashko told the presidium of the government’s coordination council for struggle against the coronavirus on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier set the task of holding vaccination across the nation. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin added that the vaccination must be voluntary and free of charge. In the first place it must be available to school teachers, medics and social workers. Mishustin said that 480,000 doses of the vaccine are to be distributed among Russian regions in December.

According to the latest statistics, over 72.9 million people have been infected worldwide and more than 1.6 million deaths have been reported.

To date, 2,707,945 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 2,149,610 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 47,968 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.