HEALTH

Algeria to receive 920,000 doses of Russian vaccine Sputnik before late April

ALGIERS- Algeria will receive a total of 920,000 doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik before the end of April, announced Monday, in Algiers, Minister of Health, Population and Hospital Reform Abderrahmane Benbouzid.

"We have signed an agreement to purchase one million doses of Russian vaccine Sputnik. We have already received 50,000 doses then 30,000 and a total of 920,000 doses are to be received before the end of April," Benbouzid told the press on the sidelines of the national conference on the knowledge economy.

The minister said that "Algeria accepts all the Covid-19 vaccines and has currently, in addition to Sputnik, vaccines of the British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and Chinese Sinopharm."

"We are waiting for the reception of vaccines from the American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson and another Chinese vaccine," he added, pointing out that "the agreements were signed with all these laboratories."

The minister underscored that the sector has opted for caution measures by launching the vaccination process progressively to avoid vaccine shortage.