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About 460,000 people on COVID-19 vaccination wait list in Belarus

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MINSK, 19 May (BelTA) – About 460,000 people are on the COVID-19 vaccination wait list in Belarus now, Belarus’ Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko said at a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the seventh convocation on 19 May, BelTA has learned.

“The health system cannot tell the coronavirus infection to stop. It is focused on incorporating the world’s latest healthcare solutions in Belarus. We have learned to resist this disaster, and we are actively vaccinating our population. This is bearing fruit. The first dose was given to 356,000 people, the second to 256,000. Now we have about 460,000 people on the COVID-19 vaccination wait list. We will go on with it and we hope that by the autumn we will have vaccinated five million people,” Igor Petrishenko said.

Belarus is taking all kinds of safety measures to minimize the burden of the COVID-19 infection. All algorithms for providing medical care have been worked out, new treatment protocols have been developed. A national vaccination plan has been approved and is being implemented. In 2021, at least 60% of the country’s population is expected to get vaccines.

The pandemic has shown that the country should have an advanced pharmaceutical industry in order to ensure the sustainability of the national health system. The domestic pharmaceutical industry helped provide people with the necessary medicines. “An irreducible reserve of antibiotics, resuscitation drugs, infusion solutions and other medicines to treat patients with the COVID-19 infection has been created,” the deputy prime minister added.

Belarus uses Russian and Chinese vaccines during the inoculation campaign. The Belmedpreparaty pharmaceutical company has launched the production (bottling) of the Sputnik V vaccine. The company rolls out up to 500,000 vaccine doses per month.

“Simultaneously, Belarus and Russia are running an investment project to launch the full-cycle production of the Sputnik V vaccine on the premises of the Belarusian  company. The Healthcare Ministry together with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, is developing Belarus’ own vaccine. A candidate vaccine has already been created. It was done ahead of schedule,” Igor Petrishenko said.

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