BRIEF—Bolivia to get 2.6 million doses of Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) and the Health Supply Center (Central de Abastecimiento y Suministros de Salud, CEASS) of Bolivia have entered into an agreement to supply the country with 2.6 million doses of Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia.

The agreement will make it possible for more than 20% of Bolivia’s population to access the vaccine.

Supply of the vaccine will be facilitated by the RDIF’s international partners in India, China, South Korea and other countries.

The cost of one dose is less than $10 for international markets and the production of the lyophilized (dry) form of the vaccine, which is stored at a temperature of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius, enables the vaccine to be easily distributed to international markets, the RDIF noted.

The news comes on the same day as UK emergency supply use was authorized for the AstraZeneca/Oxford University-developed COVID-19 vaccine, the cost of which is around $4 per dose, and the UK pharma major is applying for World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing in order to make it available to low- and middle-income countries.