Mexico agrees domestic production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine

FILE PHOTO: A syringe with a dose of the Sputnik V coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is pictured in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

MOSCOW — Mexico will produce Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 domestically, its foreign minister said on a visit to Moscow, in a TV interview shared on Wednesday on the official Sputnik V Twitter feed run by the fund marketing the vaccine.

Mexico’s top diplomat traveled to Moscow on Sunday amid talks to hammer out plans for Mexico to bottle Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine domestically after delays in shipments.

Bottling the Russian shot in Mexico could start as early as May, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the vaccine abroad, said on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, whose government is aiming to quicken its pace of vaccinations, said about a million people in Mexico had been vaccinated with Sputnik V thus far.

Mexico’s Health Ministry said in late February it expected to receive 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V by April and an additional 16.6 million shots in May. Mexico has signed an agreement to acquire a total of 24 million doses.