Russia Targets ‘Millions’ Of COVID-19 Vaccine Doses By Next Year

Moscow: Russia on Monday said that it is targeting mass production of a coronavirus vaccine it is launching next month. It aims to produce “several million” doses every month by 2021.

The country has been pushing for several vaccine prototypes. Among which, one that was on trial by the Gamaleya institute in Moscow, is in advanced development stages and is expected to pass state registration, officials claimed.

“We are very much counting on starting mass production in September,” Denis Manturov, Industry Minister, was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.

“We will be able to ensure production volumes of several hundred thousand a month, with an eventual increase to several million by the start of next year,” Manturov said. He also informed that a developer is preparing production technology at three central Russia locations.

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which finances the trials, also said he expects the vaccine’s official registration to be complete “within ten days.”

“If this happens in the next ten days, we will be ahead not just of the United States but other countries too, it will be the first registered coronavirus vaccine,” the RDIF chief was quoted as saying in a television interview.