Belarus starts vaccination with Sputnik V

Belarus has become the first country after Russia to start vaccinating its population with Sputnik V

MOSCOW, Dec. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund), announce the beginning of vaccination with Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Belarus. First batch of the vaccine arrived in Belarus today.

Belarus was the first country to officially register Sputnik V after Russia. The registration certificate was granted on December 21, 2020. On October 1, Belarus was also the first foreign country to begin clinical trials of Sputnik V. Vaccination of volunteers was conducted as part of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in eight medical institutions selected as research centers in Belarus.

RDIF and its partners are jointly working on establishing local production of Sputnik V in Belarus. On November 11, 2020, RDIF and the Belpharmprom holding company signed a cooperation agreement to prepare the pharmaceutical company's production facilities for the production of the vaccine.

Dmitry Pinevich, Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus, commented:

"Immunization remains a key component in the fight against the epidemic. A new stage starts in Belarus today with the mass vaccination against COVID-19.Medical staff, teachers, and those who get to contact a lot of people due to their job, will be the first to get vaccinated. Vaccination will be entirely voluntary".

Dmitry Pinevich added that a vaccine storage system has been created in Belarus, which allows observing the cold chain, and special medical freezing equipment has been purchased to transport the vaccine. "We thank the Russian side for active interaction and strategic cooperation in resolving this issue," Dmitry Pinevich said.

Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, said:

"The quick access to the Russian vaccine for the Belarusian people has become possible thanks to the effective work of the Belarusian regulatory system. It is important to emphasize Belarus' rational approach to local clinical trials of vaccines. The protocol of the clinical trials conducted in the country has enabled swift validation of vast Russian data obtained during the clinical study of Sputnik V for Belarus".

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

"Belarus has become the first country to officially register Sputnik V vaccine. Today Belarus has also become the first country to start vaccination with Sputnik V outside Russia. The next stage of cooperation between RDIF and its partners will involve the production of the vaccine in Belarus, which will significantly simplify logistics, accelerate the pace of vaccination and expand the prevention of novel coronavirus infection."

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB1.9 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru

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