Turkmenistan Becomes First Central Asian Country To Approve Sputnik V Vaccine - RDIF

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) Turkmenistan has become the first Central Asian country to register Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, the approval was granted by the Turkmen Health Ministry under the emergency use authorization procedure, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Monday.

"Turkmenistan became the first country in Central Asia to officially approve the use of the Sputnik V vaccine. Our partners highly appreciated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which is one of the world's leading vaccines against coronavirus," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said, as quoted in the statement.

Russia's vaccine has been registered under the same procedure in Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Palestine, Paraguay and Venezuela, according to RDIF.

Sputnik V is the world's first coronavirus vaccine officially registered for emergency use in Russia on August 11. In December, Russia launched large-scale coronavirus immunization. The latest interim results from Phase 3 clinical trials established the vaccine's efficacy at 91.4 percent and at 100 percent against severe cases.

Russia produces the vaccine for domestic use on its own. It has also struck agreements with a number of foreign manufactures to produce doses for exports. The RDIF is leading efforts to promote the Russian vaccine abroad.