Russia In Close Cooperation With BRICS On COVID-19 Vaccine Development - Foreign Ministry

Russia maintains a close cooperation with all the member countries of BRICS, India and Brazil in particular, on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday at an online BRICS event, held by the Valdai Club

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2020) Russia maintains a close cooperation with all the member countries of BRICS, India and Brazil in particular, on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday at an online BRICS event, held by the Valdai Club.

"This work is being done both collectively and on a bilateral basis with the BRICS member countries on the development, registration and launch of the required volumes of production. We have serious agreements with Brazil and India on this matter, with China we have been maintaining a very deep cooperation since the outbreak of the pandemic, "Ryabkov said.

The BRICS member countries are currently working on the framework for the creation of a joint center for vaccine development, proposed by South Africa in 2018, the deputy foreign minister noted.

In August, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine against the coronavirus, dubbed Sputnik V, and developed by the Gamaleya research institute. The vaccine is now nearing the end of phase 3 clinical trials. Many foreign countries have already signed agreements with Russia on the supplies of Sputnik V vaccine.

Last week, Rinat Maksyutov, the head of the Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector, announced that mass vaccination against COVID-19 with Russia's second coronavirus vaccine, EpiVacCorona, would start in 2021.