NUR-SULTAN, March 22. /TASS/. The Kazakh authorities have reached an agreement with Russia on additional supplies of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. This is according to a statement by the press service of the Prime Minister of the Republic Askar Mamin following his talks with Russia’s Prime Minister Mishustin in Moscow.
"Particular attention was paid to joint measures to combat the spread of [the disease caused by the coronavirus] COVID-19 and mitigate the consequences of the pandemic for the economies of the two countries. The parties reached an agreement was reached on an additional supply of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Kazakhstan," according to the statement.
During the meeting, Mamin stressed that in order to defeat the spread of the coronavirus, "a high level of coordination of efforts of our countries is required," in particular in terms of mass vaccination of the population. The heads of government discussed the aspects of further strengthening of the Kazakh-Russian cooperation on trade, investments, energy and space, as well as projects within the framework of industrial cooperation. As the press service of the Kazakh Prime Minister explained, the two prime ministers also considered topical issues of interaction in the format of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
On March 19, Kazakhstan’s Healthcare Ministry announced that it is in talks with the manufacturers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on its additional supplies to the country.
Kazakhstan’s Healthcare Ministry earlier announced plans to vaccinate over 1 million people in April. According to the ministry, more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated nationwide so far. Its press service said that 145,000 vaccine doses had been delivered to Kazakhstan’s regions. Additional 150,000 doses are expected to be supplied by the end of March.
On February 1, Kazakhstan launched mass vaccination with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine produced in Russia. In late February, Kazakhstan started shipping to the regions the Sputnik V vaccine manufactured at the Karaganda pharmaceutical facility. In the second quarter of the year, the republic is preparing to start mass production of Kazakhstan’s QazCovid-in vaccine, which is now undergoing the third phase of clinical trials.