Mauritius has procured a first consignment of 60,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia. The vaccines, which arrived today on an Air France flight, will be used in the national vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The consignment was received at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional integration and International trade, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo, and the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Jagutpal. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Konstantin Klimovskiy, and other personalities, were also present at the airport.
In a statement, Minister Ganoo recalled that, as at date in Mauritius, more than 550,000 persons have been inoculated with a first dose of vaccine against COVID-19, while more than 225,000 have received their two doses. He encouraged the population to collaborate with the authorities and to get vaccinated at the earliest through the ongoing vaccination campaign.
In addition, he pointed out that Mauritius is constantly intensifying its vaccine diplomacy adding that another 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines will soon reach Mauritius from China. He also recalled that Government’s target is to vaccinate 60% of the population by end of September 2021 and indicated that borders will soon be opened so as to enable all economic actors to operate again. He further stated that a second consignment of Sputnik V has already been ordered from Russia.
For his part, Dr Jagutpal recalled that since the launch of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in January 2021, it was agreed that different vaccines would be available to the local population.
Minister Jagutpal pointed out that unlike other vaccines, Sputnik V has to be stored at -18 degrees Celsius while adding that, today, Component 1 of the vaccine has been received. Another component will be received for the second dose in some three weeks’ time, he added. Furthermore, he stated that a vaccination programme will be worked out so as to determine who will be inoculated with the Sputnik V vaccine.
As for Mr Konstantin Klimovskiy, he underscored that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia has supported African, Latin American, and Asian countries in their respective fights against the coronavirus. He reassured that Russia will continue to help friendly countries to procure the Sputnik V vaccine, which is currently used in about 40 countries. Russia, he added, has now joined India, China, and the United Nations Organisation in helping Mauritius in its fight against the pandemic.
