Russia set for autumn mass vaccinations

MOSCOW, 06 August. - (ANA) - International health experts are calling for caution as Russia prepares to launch a mass vaccination campaign to combat Covid-19.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced this week that the Gamaleya Institute, a state-run research facility in Moscow, had completed clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine and is on course to secure regulatory approval.

“We plan wider vaccinations for October,” Murashko said, adding that doctors and teachers would be the first to be immunised.

But many scientists are concerned about what the BBC describes as Russia’s “fast-track approach”, with the World Health Organization (WHO) stressing that a blanket preventative for coronavirus is extremely unlikely at this stage.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/06 August 2020 - - -