Belarus has become the first country after Russia to start vaccinating its population with Sputnik V

Moscow, December 29, 2020 – The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), announce the beginning of vaccination with Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Belarus. The first batch of the vaccine arrived in Belarus today.

Belarus was the first country to officially register Sputnik V after Russia. The registration certificate was granted on December 21, 2020. On October 1, Belarus was also the first foreign country to begin clinical trials of Sputnik V. Vaccination of volunteers was conducted as part of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in eight medical institutions selected as research centers in Belarus.

RDIF and its partners are jointly working on establishing local production of Sputnik V in Belarus. On November 11, 2020, RDIF and the Belpharmprom holding company signed a cooperation agreement to prepare the pharmaceutical company’s production facilities for the production of the vaccine.

Dmitry Pinevich, Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus, commented:

“Immunization remains a key component in the fight against the epidemic. A new stage starts in Belarus today with the mass vaccination against COVID-19. Medical staff, teachers, and those who get to contact a lot of people due to their job, will be the first to get vaccinated. Vaccination will be entirely voluntary”.

Dmitry Pinevich added that a vaccine storage system has been created in Belarus, which allows observing the cold chain, and special medical freezing equipment has been purchased to transport the vaccine. “We thank the Russian side for active interaction and strategic cooperation in resolving this issue,” Dmitry Pinevich said.

Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, said:

“The quick access to the Russian vaccine for the Belarusian people has become possible thanks to the effective work of the Belarusian regulatory system. It is important to emphasize Belarus’ rational approach to local clinical trials of vaccines. The protocol of the clinical trials conducted in the country has enabled swift validation of vast Russian data obtained during the clinical study of Sputnik V for Belarus”.