Wednesday, March 31 2021 15:48

ArmInfo. 15 thsd doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V will be delivered to Armenia. This was announced by the head of the government apparatus Arsen Torosyan, who  previously held the post of Minister of Health. <Yesterday a final  agreement was reached. In general, we will try to purchase up to 100  thousand doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, but it all depends on the  number of citizens who will be vaccinated, "he said.

In this regard, Torosyan recalled that a few days earlier Armenia had  purchased vaccines of the British- Swedish production of AstraZeneca,  after which it is planned to supply other vaccines of even higher  quality. "We only rely on data proving that the drug is registered  and safe," said the former Minister of Health.

At the same time, he noted that the state purchases vaccines on  budgetary funds, since, according to Torosyan, this is a priority.  "Because we are talking about protecting the health of our citizens  and developing the economy," the official said.

On average, the cost of one dose of anti-covid drugs ranges from $ 5  to $ 30, in particular AstraZeneca - $ 5 - $ 10, Sputnik - $ 11.

At the same time, Torosyan noted that he does not see the need for a  new lockdown: "We do not have such a decision, and most likely there  will not be any. We intend to live protecting ourselves from the  coronavirus, including through vaccinations>.

To remind, it became known earlier that, despite the refusal of a  number of European countries from the Swedish-British vaccine  AstraZeneca, Armenia imported the first batch of the drug in the  amount of 24 thousand doses.

Vaccination in the country will be carried out on a voluntary basis  and is intended for citizens at risk, in particular, medical  personnel, citizens over 65 years old, as well as citizens from 16 to  64 years old with chronic diseases, employees of care centers for the  elderly, and their wards.  At the same time, a number of EU countries  refused to supply the AstraZeneca vaccine, or suspended the  vaccination process for their citizens due to the registered  consequences. It was reported that after the injection, the  vaccinated citizens developed thromboembolic complications, in  addition, deaths were recorded.  In this regard, the representative  of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Armenia Yegor Zaitsev,  speaking about the vaccine against the coronavirus AstraZeneca,  assured that it is effective and safe. "There has been no proven  association between patients' thromboembolism and the vaccine,  although this relationship is still being investigated. This issue is  at the center of attention of both WHO and the European Medicines  Agency. The benefits of the vaccine exceed all the risks, "he said.

It should also be noted that within the framework of the EAEU, the  Russian side proposed to Armenia to establish a joint venture for the  production of "Sputnik V". Moreover, the Eurasian Development Bank  (EDB) is ready to finance this project. This proposal was also voiced  by the official representative of the Eurasian Economic Commission  Iya Malkina. The information was also confirmed directly in the EEC  Industrial Policy Department, noting that the Armenian side did not  officially respond to the proposal, only saying that the country,  allegedly, is not able to establish such production due to the lack  of production capabilities and necessary competencies. Meanwhile, the  Ministry of Health of the country told ArmInfo correspondent that the  department does not believe that the state lacks such capabilities,  noting that it has not received such a proposal directly.  It should  be noted that within the framework of the third wave of the pandemic,  about 1,000 cases of coronavirus infection are registered in Armenia  every day.