The Ministry of Health (Minsa) has announced
the signing of an agreement to purchase 20 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which means Peru has so far secured a total of 98.8 million doses to protect its population from COVID-19.
"We have efficient and safe vaccines to combat COVID-19 (...) and we are among the countries with the fastest pace of vaccination in Latin America," Ugarte said, urging the population to receive both doses.
In a conversation with journalists, the minister specified that Sputnik uses a different technology compared to the inactivated virus contained in the Sinopharm vaccine and the Messenger RNA concept behind Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
He explained that Sputnik is made up of two different components, for its first and second dose, unlike other vaccines that use the same material for both doses.
What makes it different?
The Cabinet member noted that —unlike the Sinopharm vaccine, which is based on an inactivated virus, or Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which use Messenger RNA technology— Sputnik uses an adenovirus, which is another virus.
This adenovirus is combined with the spike of the COVID-19 virus, and this is injected into the person. Human adenovirus type 26 is used in the first dose, while adenovirus type 25 is used in the second dose, which generates an immune response against the disease.
The high-ranking official clarified that
the 20 million doses will serve to immunize 10 million people and that the interval between the first and second doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine can be extended from 21 days to three months.
(END) LIT/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 21/7/2021