Russia has vaccinated over one million people against COVID-19, the institute that developed the country’s vaccine said on Tuesday.
Alexander Gintsburg, Head, Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, said about 100,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine were administered daily.
The Gamaleya institute developed the first vaccine worldwide to earn approval. Russia began its vaccination campaign in early December.
President Vladimir Putin has put pressure on health authorities to speed up vaccinations.
By November, 70 per cent of Russia’s 146 million population were expected to be vaccinated, according to earlier reports.
Russia plans to produce half a billion vaccine doses this year, especially for export.
Two jabs of Sputnik V are needed for immunity, which is said to form within 42 days.
The number of new coronavirus infections has recently declined in Russia, with 24,200 new cases reported on Tuesday, compared with a recent high of 28,000 daily infections.
Over 3.2 million people have been infected since the beginning of the pandemic, and 59,500 have died in connection to the virus.
