Bolivia signs contract to purchase 2.6 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine

Bolivia has become the third Latin American nation to strike an agreement with Russia’s Direct Investment Fund for supplies of its Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19. Under the deal, La Paz will receive 2.6 million doses.

The contract between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Bolivia’s Health Supply Center (CEASS) was signed during a videoconference, in which Bolivian President Luis Arce took part. 

The president praised Sputnik V in a Twitter post, calling it a “safe and effective” vaccine that is in “high demand” following the ceremony that aired live on his Facebook page. The contract will allow the South American nation, which has seen over 156,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 9,000 coronavirus-linked deaths to date, to get 2.6 million doses of the pioneering Russian vaccine.

That will be enough to vaccinate more than 20 percent of Bolivia’s population, RDIF said in a statement. The jabs will be supplied by Russia’s partners in India, China, South Korea, and other countries, the statement added. The cost of each dose is less than $10 for international markets, the Russian sovereign wealth fund said.

The deal was also praised by RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, who thanked Arce “for trusting the Sputnik V vaccine” while saying that the first Russian anti-Covid drug, Avifavir, was also delivered to Bolivia as part of “actively developing cooperation” between the two nations.

Bolivia has become the third Latin American nation to acquire the Russian vaccine, after Argentina and Venezuela. Argentina signed a deal to purchase a total of 10 million Sputnik V doses earlier in December and received the first batch of the jabs last week. It also became the first nation in Latin America to grant approval to Sputnik V.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!