Russia set to roll out second coronavirus vaccine ‘EpiVacCorona’

Russia’s second coronavirus vaccine, “EpiVacCorona,” is about to be made available to the general public, announced Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova, on Friday, December 11.

According to TASS, Popova said that doses of the EpiVacCorona vaccine have been sent to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tula, Novosibirsk, and Rostov-on-Don.

The Rostov, Tula, and Novosibirsk regions were selected for the vaccine roll out based on the fact that they are currently experiencing the most active spread of COVID-19 “on territory outside of central cities,” Popova explained. EpiVacCorona can be stored at temperatures ranging from two to eight degrees Celsius (35.6–46.4 degrees Fahrenheit), which allows for it to be delivered even to remote settlements, she underscored.

Popova emphasized that teachers, paramedics, and doctors in remote settlements need to be vaccinated first and foremost — “people on whom the provision of healthcare and education services depend.” 

According to Interfax, 50,000 doses of EpiVacCorona are set to be released by the end of the year, 5,000 of which will be allocated for research, while the rest will be put into general circulation. Mass production of the vaccine is scheduled for early 2021.

In early December, the Russian authorities announced the start of a large-scale vaccination campaign against COVID-19. In Moscow, the “Sputnik V” vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute, became available for high-risk groups beginning on December 5.