Argentina inks deal with Russia for Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

FILE PHOTO: A Red Cross volunteer measures the temperature of man at the Fraga slum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 6, 2020. /AP

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez on Thursday announced his administration signed an agreement with Russia to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"Yesterday (Wednesday) we signed the contract with the Sovereign Fund of the Russian Federation that guarantees the provision of Russian vaccines for Argentina," the president told the press at the presidential headquarters in Buenos Aires.

The country will be able to count on "sufficient doses to be able to vaccinate 10 million Argentines between January and February," Fernandez added.

The president called on the public to continue taking preventive measures, saying "the vaccine has not solved the pandemic and we must pay special attention to what is happening in neighboring countries and in Europe. We have not solved the problem because the risk continues to grow."

Argentina registered its first case of COVID-19 on March 3 and reported 1,475,222 infections and 40,222 deaths as of Wednesday.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency