Sputnik Light vaccine to arrive in Belarus in July

The Sputnik Light vaccine is expected to be delivered to Belarus in July, Belarus' Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich told reporters, BelTA has learned.

“We have sent an application for the Sputnik Light vaccine. We are to receive it in July. And we would like to deliver this vaccine to students by the start of the academic year as part of our effort to vaccinate population groups who do not develop any serious symptoms, but can be a source of infection for others,” Dmitry Pinevich said.

Today Belarus uses mostly the Sputnik V vaccine for its immunization program. According to the minister, there is enough of this vaccine in the regions. “We keep in touch with all regions on a daily basis. The waiting list is nearly identical to our stocks,” he said.

After the most vulnerable population groups get the vaccine, “we will move on to deliver vaccines to the general public," Dmitry Pinevich noted. However, pop-up COVID vaccination centers are already up and running at malls and entertainment centers in Minsk. Not only Minskers, but also residents of other places can receive a vaccine here. The information about vaccinated will be sent to other regions. Similar vaccination clinics are expected to open in other cities and towns.

International studies suggest that any vaccine approved by health and safety watchdogs, WHO, is effective against various strains. This is confirmed, in particular, by British researchers. “In other words, any vaccine will protect most people from getting sick, and even if people get COVID-19 after vaccination, their symptoms will be less severe,” Dmitry Pinevich said.

Speaking about the Delta variant detected in Minsk, the minister noted that there is nothing extraordinary about this, the same as with the emergence of the British variant several months ago. “To some extent, we expect a possible increase in cases, but I do not think it will be significant. Anyway it is more about whether the healthcare system is ready for it or not. We have extra hospital beds in case the number of cases will surge,” the minister added.