Government admits next flight to Russia to search for vaccines has no date

As happened this Sunday, the flight that would leave tonight for Moscow to bring to the country a new shipment of Sputnik V vaccines against the coronavirus has been postponed and for the moment government, they admit there is no new starting date.

In a series of messages posted on the social network Twitter, the president of Aerolineas Argentinas, Pablo Ceriani, explained the reasons for the postponement of the trip.

“The operation will be scheduled as soon as possible, once we have the confirmation of all the actors involved in the supply chain that allows the transfer of vaccines ”, began in a series of messages.

There, he explained that these operations require coordinated work with different confirmations from all the participating agencies. So in the absence of one of them “It is not possible to start from what suits us: the cargo flight.”

He also said that coordinated ground logistics are necessary, necessary, according to Ceriani, so as not to delay the shipment of vaccines.

“Ground logistics means that once the operation is authorized, the freight forwarder goes to the laboratory to pack the vaccines in special containers. Then they are documented and transported to the airport to complete the customs process and their subsequent stowage in the plane, ”he added the president of Aerolineas Argentinas.

In this way, Alberto Fernández’s promise to vaccinate 10 million Argentines between January and February will be rejected.

On December 10, the president explained that there would be “a first batch of 600,000 doses to vaccinate 300,000 people before the end of the year” and that in January “enough doses for 5 million people” would arrive.

So far the first 600,000 doses have arrived, spread over two 40-hour flights, between departure from Ezeiza international airport, arrival in Moscow, loading time at the airport and the almost 18 travel hours that involve return home.

In recent days, with the calendar advancing, the government itself has recognized that it is the 4.7 million doses pending this month are highly unlikely to reach the country in the coming days.

“All of our energy, like that of all the areas concerned, is put into fulfilling this fundamental task to deal with Covid-19. We will confirm @Aerolineas_AR’s next flight to Russia when we get approval from each of the players. the supply chain ”, concluded Ceriani.