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Coronavirus pandemic

Moscow hopes WHO will certify Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine soon

Nebenzia emphasized that the world is experiencing "vaccine competition."

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, January 25. /TASS/. Russia is expecting that the World Health Organization (WHO) will soon certify the Russian coronavirus vaccine, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

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Russia manufactured about 7.6 mln doses of coronavirus vaccine

"We have submitted our documents to requalify our vaccine and to add it to the EUL (Emergency Use Listing) list. The second stage of reviewing our application in the WHO began on January 22, so we are hoping that it will be certified soon enough," he said.

Nebenzia emphasized that the world is experiencing "vaccine competition." "[The US] only now has started to slowly recognize our vaccine, particularly because they already dealt with their own," the UN envoy underscored.

"We offered our vaccine to the UN when there were no other jabs at all," he recalled. "In any case, the issue of administering our vaccine in the UN headquarters and its missions in other countries cannot be discussed until the WHO issues the certificate."

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the UN General Assembly that Russia is willing to offer Sputnik V vaccine doses for US employees free of charge. According to him, Russia had already received appeals from UN colleagues to supply the Russian jab.

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