Russia has begun its COVID-19 vaccination program on Saturday, marking the country’s first mass immunization effort against the dreaded disease.
Moscow has started distributing the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, with the city’s task force saying the shot would first be made available to medical frontline health workers, teachers, and social workers who are among those high risk from the virus.
Vaccine developers have claimed that Sputnik V is 95 percent effective and does not cause any major side effects. The vaccine, however, is still undergoing mass testing. Scientists have earlier raised issues about the speed at which Russia has worked.
Russia has developed two COVID-19 vaccines
The country has developed two coronavirus vaccines. Sputnik V is heavily supported by the Russian Direct Investment Fund while another vaccine has been developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute.
Thousands of people in the county have started registering to get vaccine shots over the weekend.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the list would grow as vaccine production ramps up in the country.
