Azerbaijan reveals list of COVID-19 vaccines possible to import
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan revealed the list of vaccines against COVID-19 that may be imported to the country.
"It is difficult to give exact information about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines, but there is some encouraging news," the Board Chairman of the Association for the Management of Medical Territorial Units Ramin Bayramli has said during the briefing on December 15.
He noted that there are vaccines offered by different companies, and with five of them Azerbaijan has got familiarized. The list includes a joint US-Germany produced vaccine Pfizer, the Russian Sputnik V, the US Oxford University Moderna, jointly developed by Swedish and British scientists AstraZeneca, and Chinese Sinovac vaccines.
It was noted that the efficiency of vaccine developed in Russia is 92 percent, for the one developed in the US is 95 percent, and efficiency of Chinese vaccine is considered to be 95-97 percent.
Bayramli underlined that CoronaVac vaccine from Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech is safe because this vaccine was developed using traditional methods.
Moreover, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Gasimov emphasized that at present, the vaccination strategy in the country is ready, noting that in the coming days the strategy will be approved by the government and announced.
He stressed that in the first stage vaccination will be free of charge.
"Initially, it is planned to vaccinate healthcare workers and people over the age of 65," he added.
Likewise, he stated that Azerbaijan is conducting both bilateral and multilateral negotiations on the use of a vaccine from COVID-19, underlining that the country is most closer to cooperating with Turkey.
"The virus currently causing COVID-19 has been widely spread around the world for almost a year. The vaccine has already been developed, and in some countries, it’s already being used," he added.
Additionally, it was noted that the coronavirus vaccines to be purchased and imported into the country will be 100 percent safety compliant.
Azerbaijan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 28 and introduced a special quarantine regime on March 25.
As of December 16, Azerbaijan, the nation of 10 million, has registered 183,259 COVID-19 cases and 2,007 coronavirus-related deaths.Some 119,005 patients have recovered.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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