The Russian government has provided a shipment of its “Sputnik V” Covid-19 vaccine to Laos, according to the Russian Embassy in Vientiane.
Russian Ambassador Vladimir A. Kalinin presented the vaccines to Deputy Minister of Health, Associate Prof. Dr. Phouthone Muongpak.
“I am honored and pleased to attend the handover ceremony of the first Covid-19 vaccine from Russia, “Sputnik V,” by the Government of the Russian Federation to the Government of Laos, with the invaluable assistance of the Russian Direct Investment Fund,” said Ambassador Vladimir.
He emphasized that nearly one million Russian citizens have now been vaccinated with the vaccine, without any side effects. He said that more than fifty countries have applied for Russia’s vaccine, worth about USD 1.2 billion, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines among those within the ASEAN community.
Laos already received 2,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine from China and has begun vaccinating some 200 volunteers, while a hundred frontline medical workers have received a second dose to ensure immunity.
Laos is also one of 92 countries to receive assistance from the COVAX alliance, with an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the Lao population to benefit from these vaccines by April 2021.
Laos has confirmed 43 cases of Covid-19, with the latest two cases reported last week. The country has issued 97,529 Covid-19 tests and has recorded zero deaths from the coronavirus.
