ARGENTINA STARTS MANUFACTURING SPUTNIK V VACCINES VS COVID-19

Argentina has become the first country in Latin America to start producing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Laboratorios Richmond is now producing the country's first batch of jabs which will then be sent to Moscow's Gamaleya Institute for quality control, the company said on Tuesday. Full-scale production will start in June.

Later, the vaccine made in Argentina is to be exported to other Latin American countries. Argentina also makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is then sent to Mexico to be filled.

Meanwhile, Argentina is mainly using Sputnik V in its inoculation campaign. So far, 12.3 percent of the populace have received at least one dose, and 1.8 percent are fully vaccinated. The country is currently seeing a surge in infections, and the government has responded by re-introducing strict restrictions in large parts of the nation.

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