MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. At the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, thanked him for the support of his country during the pandemic and the provision of vaccines.
"I have sincerely wanted to thank you in person for Russia’s support of Kazakhstan during the pandemic - with vaccines, medicines, and so on. Do you remember, when we went to an exhibition in St. Petersburg and then we looked and agreed on a joint venture? Now that company in Karaganda produces the Russian vaccine, of the same quality and in large quantities," Nazarbayev told Putin.
Nazarbayev pointed out that, when he came down with coronavirus, a team of Russian doctors treated him.
"I will never forget lots of things - when I got sick, a group of Russian doctors stayed by my side for ten days. It was crucial for my recovery. It is not forgotten," he explained.
On June 25, Kazakhstan's first president received the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Karaganda pharmaceutical plant. On June 18, 2020, Nazarbayev’s press service reported that he had tested positive for coronavirus, so he self-isolated and switched to working online. On July 2, 2020, he was reported to have recovered from COVID-19.
On February 1, Kazakhstan launched vaccination with Russia-produced Sputnik V. In late February, the country began shipments of the Russian vaccine made at the Karaganda pharmaceutical plant to the regions. On April 26, Kazakhstan rolled out vaccination with the national coronavirus vaccine QazVac. In late April, the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund purchased one million doses of the Hayat-Vax vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. Additionally, the first batch of 500,000 doses of CoronaVac produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech was delivered to the country in early June.