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FA Min: Peru has ensured 28 million COVID-19 vaccines

Photo: ANDINA/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru

16:58 | Lima, Jan. 22.

Peru has ensured a total of 28 million vaccine doses against coronavirus. Besides, it relies on signed and firm contracts to guarantee their delivery, Foreign Affairs Minister Elizabeth Astete reaffirmed on Friday.

During her virtual participation in the extraordinary session of Congress' Special COVID-19 Commission, the high-ranking official said the figure is disaggregated into one million doses from China's laboratory Sinopharm, which will arrive in the country this January.

The other 14 million from AstraZeneca are scheduled for September, and the remaining 13 million from the COVAX Facility mechanism will land in the country during the second half of the current year, with the possibility that some of them may arrive earlier.

"It means, there are 28 million vaccines that already rely on signed and firm contracts, so we are not only talking about one million vaccines; there are 28 million vaccines, whose corresponding contracts with laboratories have been signed (…)," she stressed.

The Cabinet member also explained that the first batch from Sinopharm is part of a negotiation for the broader agreement involving 38 million doses, adding that —in the coming days— "the number of vaccines to arrive (in Peru) in the months of February and March will be known."

"We are still in negotiations for the final contract with Sinopharm, but we can assure that vaccines will land in the coming months, complementing the first batch to arrive at the end of January," she stressed.

In this regard, the diplomat said all possible efforts are being made to complete the administrative procedures so that the initial batch (one million doses) arrives, as this procedure is "very advanced."

"In the last few days, the procedures for the exports that must be issued by the State Council in China have been advanced; as we have been informed, the first million is already available. The Sinopharm company requested the respective update on January 8, and the procedure is in the final stage, which must be completed at any time," she added.

Later, Ambassador Astete stated that the necessary coordination is being carried out simultaneously to generate the issuance of the conditional sanitary registry in Peru, as well as the logistics for the distribution and subsequent administration of the vaccine.

(END) JCC/CVC/MVB

Publicado: 22/1/2021