Russia currently prepares delivery of 10,000 doses of the Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine to Turkmenistan, the Ashgabat-based Orient news outlet reported citing the Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Alexander Blokhin as saying during a press briefing on Friday.
"I really hope that the flight arriving in Turkmenistan today will deliver 10,000 doses of Sputnik Lite, it is free of charge. Russia and Turkmenistan have a mutual understanding on these issues, which is very good,” Blokhin stated.
To date, Russia delivered around 600 thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Turkmenistan, according to the Russian Ambassador.
Saying around 80% of the Turkmen population has been fully vaccinated, Blokhin added that “it is a very good indicator. For example, in Russia these figures are around 60%. I know that the Turkmen side plans to increase the vaccination level to 90% - it would be wonderful, it's at the level of the best countries in the world”.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan approved the use of Sputnik Light the Russian single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.