A nurse prepares dose of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) Covid-19 vaccine for a patient at a clinic in Moscow on December 30, 2020, as the country started its vaccination campaign for people aged 60 and over, to fight against the spread of the novel coronav
MOSCOW/LA PAZ - Russian sovereign fund RDIF agreed to supply Bolivia with 2.6 million doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, RDIF said on Wednesday, but an apparent discrepancy in numbers overshadowed the announcement of the South American nation's first major vaccine deal.
RDIF said the agreement would make it possible for more than 20% of Bolivia's population to access the vaccine and supply would be facilitated by the Russian fund's international partners in India, China, South Korea and other countries. Bolivia's population is 11.35 million and 20% would be 2.27 million people.
Bolivian President Luis Arce, who took office last month, said the deal was for 5.2 million doses for 2.6 million people, or double the quantity RDIF described.
"With this contract we are guaranteeing 5,200,000 doses for the Bolivian people," said Arce in a signing ceremony that was also attended by the Bolivian vice-president and health minister, the CEO of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev and officials from the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Arce said Russia would send 6,000 doses, for 3,000 "treatments", in January to vaccinate its most vulnerable populations, 1.7 million doses by the end of March and the rest "between April and May."
Asked for confirmation of the number of doses, the Bolivian health ministry said the contract stipulated 5.2 million doses for 2.6 million people.
RDIF did not respond to a request for clarification.
The Bolivia deal is latest sign the Russian vaccine is making inroads in Latin American nations eager for more immunization capacity, including neighbouring Argentina and Venezuela.
On Monday, Reuters reported that Russia’s first big international shipment of its coronavirus vaccine last week - 300,000 doses sent to Argentina - consisted only of the first dose of the two-shot vaccine, which is easier to make than the second dose.
Unlike most other COVID-19 vaccines, which are given as two shots of the same product, Sputnik V relies on two doses delivered using different inactive viruses, known as vectors.
President Vladimir Putin has referred to a single-component option as a "light-vaccine”, which he said would provide less protection than the two components, but "will still reach 85%” effectiveness.
Bolivia, which has endured periods of political and social disruption since contested elections in 2019 saw longtime president Evo Morales leave office, an interim government installed and then a fresh government elected led by Arce, has struggled to secure bilateral deals for vaccine supply.
The government has said it also hopes to vaccinate up to 20% of its population in the first quarter of next year through the global COVAX initiative, which is backed by the World Health Organization and seeks to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines.
