“I will be the first to be vaccinated so that no one need be
afraid,” Fernandez told a press conference in Buenos Aires, where he announced
the purchase from Russia of enough vaccines for 10 million people.
The president sought to calm fears over mass coronavirus
vaccinations and the Russian vaccine in particular.
Fernandez said he would receive his dose once the vaccine is
approved by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical
Technology.
“We will have enough doses to vaccinate 10 million
Argentines,” Fernandez said.
A first shipment of 600,000 doses will be used to inoculate
300,000 people — two doses per person — before the end of the year, he said.
In January, doses for a further 5 million people are
expected, with the remainder of the inoculations needed for a total of 10
million arriving in February, the president said.
The Sputnik vaccine’s developers say it is 95 percent
effective based on interim trial results. However, it’s yet to complete its
third and final phase of trials involving some 40,000 volunteers.
Argentina has been hit particularly badly by the coronavirus
pandemic, surpassing 40,000 deaths from the disease this week, and accumulating
more than 1.5 million cases.
The agreement with Russia is the third signed by the
Argentine government to acquire Covid-19 vaccines.
The other two are joint efforts with Mexico for the British
AstraZeneca vaccine with Covax, a mechanism set in motion by the World Health
Organization to guarantee equitable global access to vaccines.
AFP
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