BAKU, May 17. /TASS/. Mass vaccination against Covid-19 with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will kick off in Azerbaijan on May 18, the country’s Health Ministry said on Monday.

"Starting from May 18, people will be able to use the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine to get inoculated against the novel coronavirus infection," it said, adding that the vaccine would be available for people older than 18 who have no contraindications.

A vaccination campaign began in Azerbaijan on January 18. The Chinese Sinovac, Biotech’s CoronaVac and AztraZeneca’s Vaxzevria are being used. The latter vaccine is available only to people older than 60.

The first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V was delivered in Azerbaijan on May 2. More batches are expected to be supplied by the end of this month.

According to the latest updates, nearly 1.8 million people, or 18% of Azerbaijan’s population, have been inoculated against Covid-19. The country has recorded 329,843 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 314,900 patients having recovered and 4,779 deaths.