KHMEIMIM /Syria/, January 25. /TASS/. Inoculation against the coronavirus has begun for servicemen of the group of the Russian Armed Forces at the Khmeimim air base in Syria. The Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been delivered to Syria in a sufficient amount, head of the disease control and prevention department of the group of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria Vladimir Radchenko told journalists.

"On the basis of a medical detachment, a planned inoculation of personnel with the Sputnik V vaccine is being conducted. The vaccine was received in a sufficient amount, according to the need. Servicemen are getting inoculated on a voluntary basis," he said.

According to him, anyone can get inoculated if one hasn’t had the coronavirus, wasn’t inoculated earlier and currently does not display any cold symptoms. All the vaccinated will receive corresponding inoculation certificates.

According to captain of medical service Islam Umarov, before the vaccination the servicemen undergo a mandatory medical screening. "A medical examination with the body temperature measured, collection of epidemiological history, measuring the saturation (blood oxygen level), heart rate, blood pressure [is conducted]. A doctor warns a patient that in the first days (after inoculation) a flu-like condition is possible, a slight discomfort," he explained to journalists, stressing that the vaccination campaign has just begun and so far the servicemen receive only the first component of Sputnik V.

As one of the servicemen who was among the first ones to be inoculated told journalists, he planned on getting the vaccine long time ago: his tour of duty in Syria is coming to an end and he wanted to return to Russia already vaccinated. "I am going home in the near future. And in order to keep my family safe, since the coronavirus exists in Russia anyway, I decided to get inoculated," he explained.

According to the latest global statistics, over 98.7 mln people have been infected worldwide and more than 2.1 mln deaths have been reported. To date, 3,719,400 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 3,131,760 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 69,462 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.