Belarus to become first country to receive Russian coronavirus vaccine

Coronavirus chronicle

TBS Report
25 August, 2020, 06:05 pm
Last modified: 25 August, 2020, 06:10 pm
According to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BeITA), Belarusian citizens will participate in the third stage of Russian vaccine trials
FILE PHOTO: A handout photo shows vials during the production of "Gam-Covid-Vac" vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), at Binnopharm pharmaceutical company in Zelenograd near Moscow, Russia August 7, 2020. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)/Andrey Rudakov/Handout via REUTERS

Belarus will become the first country to receive doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed in Russia as part of a new agreement reached by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko on Monday. 

According to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BeITA), the two leaders agreed that Belarusian citizens will participate in the third stage of Russian vaccine trials, on a voluntary basis, reports the CNN.

In a press release, the Kremlin added that the telephone call between Putin and Lukashenko focused on "bilateral cooperation" between the two states, as well as the situation in Belarus. 

Mass demonstrations over August's disputed presidential election are now entering a third week in Belarus.

"Alexander Lukashenko informed [Putin] about the measures being taken to normalize the situation in the country," the Kremlin statement added.

Related Topics

Top News / World+Biz

Russian Covid-19 Vaccine / Belarus

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