Armenia to receive first batch of coronavirus vaccines in early February - Gayane Sahakyan
"Coronavirus vaccination campaigns are underway globally as a preventive measure to protect people from the coronavirus and combat the pandemic, some countries have rolled out mass vaccination. Armenia has an exisitng contract with COVAX Facility and expects to get vaccination dozes for 10 percent of the country's population to be administered mostly to the clinically vulnerable people," the deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention Gayane Sahakyan told a press conference.
In Sahakyan's words, initial negotiations are underway for the first shipment of the vaccines to Armenia set to arrive by the end of January and in the beginning of February. In Sahakyan's words, talks are underway to purchase Sputnik V, Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines as well considering the research and clinical trials available on them.
"We will focus on the safety and efficiency of the vaccine. Parallel talks are held over obtaining all these vaccines, yet I am not sure which vaccine will arrive the first, since the process is related to number of issues," said Sahakyan.
Asked about individuals who were vaccinated with Russian Sputnik V, sample dozes of which were delivered to Armenia in December, Sahakyan informed that she had been among the 15 volunteers from the ministry who were vaccinated and no unexpected adverse effects were recorded.