Venezuela Expects To Get Russian Medication To Treat COVID-19 Soon - Foreign Minister

CARACAS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2020) Venezuela is getting closer to acquiring the Russian Avifavir medication used to treat COVID-19, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told Sputnik.

"We have already advanced some of the sanitary and bureaucratic procedures to be able to obtain this medicine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, so soon I think we will see it in Venezuela," Arreaza said on Monday.

He added that Venezuela was impressed by Russia's scientific potential in what concerned the development of the coronavirus vaccine and expressed hope that Venezuela would get the Russian vaccine soon.

On Monday, Kromis � a joint venture of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the ChemRar pharmaceutical company � announced it had reached agreement on Avifavir deliveries to South Africa and seven countries in Latin America.

Avifavir received a registration certificate of the Russian Ministry of Health in late May, becoming the world's first favipiravir-based drug approved for the treatment of COVID-19.

RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said on Monday that Russia was already delivering Avifavir to over 15 countries. According to Dmitriev, RDIF expects Russia's first vaccine against COVID-19 to be registered within 10 days and Russia's monthly production of the vaccine could total 10 million by the end of the year.