MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina authorizes emergency use of Sinopharm's vaccine; one million doses expected

The office of president Fernandez said that 1 million doses of the Chinese vaccine, which requires two doses per person, were expected to arrive in the next few days.

ANMAT, Argentina’s drug regulator has authorized the emergency use of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine ahead of an expected delivery of 1 million doses of the Chinese-made jab.

Argentina which was rattled in recent days by a VIP vaccine scandal that led to the resignation of the health minister, is ramping up its inoculation program, which has so far been largely built around Russia’s Sputnik V.

The office of President Alberto Fernandez said that 1 million doses of the Chinese vaccine, which requires two doses per person, were expected to arrive in the next few days.

“This will be a new vaccine that our country will have as part of the national government’s prevention strategy in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the government said.

Argentina, which has a population of about 45 million, has so far received 1.22 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine from the Russian Gamaleya Institute and 580,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine, manufactured by the Indian Serum Institute and developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.