Nur-Sultan | Kazakhstan launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign on Monday with the injection developed by this Central Asian country, called QazVac, currently in phase III clinical trials.
According to state television, 50,000 doses of the two-dose vaccine developed by the State Institute for Biosafety Research have been distributed across Kazakhstan.
The Minister of Health, Alexeï Tsoï, was injected on this occasion the first dose of the vaccine live on television, saying to feel “good” and adding that the government is in negotiations with Turkey for the production of more. lots.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for his part hailed the scientific breakthrough of his country, which has become “one of the few countries” in the world to have developed its own vaccine against COVID-19.
Kazakhstan was the first foreign country to produce Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine on its soil, which has so far dominated its coronavirus immunization campaign.
According to Tsoi, one in 20 people have been vaccinated in Kazakhstan since the campaign began in February.
According to official figures on Monday, more than 309,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 and 3,570 have died in the country of 19 million people.
Former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan is the main economy of Central Asia, strong of its hydrocarbon reserves and its natural resources.