UNICEF will receive 220 million doses of the vaccine …

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced this Thursday an agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the supply of 220 million doses of Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus. The delivery, the Russian body confirmed, will take place once the World Health Organization (WHO) authorizes emergency use of the drug, a process already started in October last year.

“RDIF and Unicef ​​announce the signing of the agreement for the supply of 220 million doses of the two-component vaccine Sputnik V. This amount is enough to vaccinate 110 million people“the Russian entity reported in a statement.

“RDIF is pleased to support the international efforts of UNICEF and its partners to guarantee equitable and generalized access to vaccines against the coronavirus for all countries, ”RDIF executive director Kirill Dmitriev said after the agreement was released.

“Sputnik V is already in use in more than 40 countries, and this number continues to increase as we continue to deliver to our partners every day, ”added the official, while insisting that vaccination is the best way to beat the pandemic, to help people to feel secure, restore savings and resume normal life.

the supply to Unicef, clarified the RDIF, is subject to Sputnik V emergency clearance by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this sense, the Russian body expects the decision to be announced “soon”, given that it has requested approval from the WHO in October 2020.

Dmitriev also announced that talks will be held with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) to discuss the possibility of including Sputnik V in the Covax mechanism, created by WHO to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccines for all countries, regardless of income.

Sputnik V was approved in Russia on August 11, 2020 and consists of two doses applied with an interval of 21 days. While the former is based on human adenovirus type 26, the latter uses recombinant human adenovirus type 5.