Russia begins production of coronavirus vaccine

Russia says it has started producing a coronavirus vaccine.

“Production of a vaccine against COVID-19 infection, developed by the Gamaleya Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, has begun,” the statement said.

It may take 9-12 months to produce enough coronavirus vaccines to create herd immunity, Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, said.

“It is important to understand when we have time to meet the needs of the country. I hope within 9-12 months,” said Alexander Gintsburg.

He noted that companies continue to produce monoclonal antibodies that have been adapted for vaccine production. In the next month and a half, each of these sites will produce about a million doses of the vaccine per month. “And by the end of the year, it could be one and a half to two million doses,” the head of the Gamaleya center explained.

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Health registered the world's first vaccine against the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which was jointly developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Investment Fund. The new vaccine is called "Sputnik V". Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that the vaccine will be produced at two facilities - the Gamaleya Center and the Binnopharm plant.