Russia authorized vaccination of people over 60 with Sputnik V – Telam

Russia allows coronavirus vaccination for people over 60 with Sputnik V

The Russian Ministry of Health has authorized vaccination against the coronavirus for those over 60 years old with the immunizing Sputnik V, whose efficacy for said age group was ratified on Friday by the Nikolai Gamaleya Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.

“The Ministry of Health has approved changes in the instructions for use of the drug. The Sputnik V vaccine has been approved for all people over 18 years old. Thus, citizens over 60 years of age can also be vaccinated against coronavirus, “health care holder Mijail Murashko told Russia 24 broadcaster.

Until now, the Russian vaccine, which began to be widely used in the country on December 15, was only applied to people between the ages of 18 and 60.

Many people have complained via social media that Moscow is delivering the vaccine overwhelmingly to other countries before its own citizens.“

As the Gamaleya Center reported on Friday, the official said the latest studies conducted have determined that Sputnik V does not produce side effects in people over the age of 60.

“Clinical analyzes have been carried out on the use of the Sputnik V vaccine in people over the age of 60. Experts have confirmed its safety and effectiveness,” Murashko said as quoted by the Russian Sputnik news agency.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained at his annual press conference that he could not get the vaccine because his age, 68, did not allow it.

“I follow the recommendations of our specialists and that is why so far I have not had the vaccine, but I will do it without fail when possible”, then declared the president.

These statements sparked controversy, mainly in Argentina, the first foreign country to authorize the Sputnik V vaccine on December 23, the day a plane arrived with the first doses in the country.

Meanwhile, in Russia, many people complained via social media because Moscow was massively delivering the vaccine to other countries before its own citizens.

In response, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced on Friday that the government would provide nearly 6.5 million doses of Sputnik V to its medical centers between January and February 2021.

“Our mission now is to increase the production volume of the coronavirus vaccine to supply all regions of our country,” he said.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained at his annual press conference that he could not get the vaccine because his age, 68, did not allow it.“

Sputnik V showed 91.4% efficacy in the last control carried out in the third phase of clinical trials, data which, according to the director of the Gamaleya Center, Alexandr Gintsburg, “allows us to state with certainty that (Sputnik V) is very effective and completely harmless to health ”.

Meanwhile, with the 29,258 positives detected in the past 24 hours, Russia already has 3,021,964 cases of Covid-19 and ranks fourth in the world, behind the United States, India and Brazil, in number of infections.

In addition, 567 more deaths have been recorded, bringing the number of deaths in the country to 54,226 since the start of the pandemic.