Cairo (Egypt), January 13: Tunisia is engaged in talks with several COVID-19 vaccine producers, including Russia, over delivery of its Sputnik V vaccine, Tunisian Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi said.
"We are in contact with various laboratories. Today, I held a video conference with the Russian Embassy to clarify technical details so that, God willing, in the near future - in late January - we will receive some Sputnik V vaccine [doses]," Mehdi said at a press conference.
The minister added that on Monday, authorities granted authorization to sell the Pfizer vaccine in the country.
According to the minister, mass vaccination in the country will begin no earlier than February and will be voluntary.
Earlier in the day, Tunisia announced a coronavirus-related quarantine for the week's second half. Movements across the country will be prohibited from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m., local time (15:00-05:00 GMT).
According to the latest data from the Tunisian Ministry of Health, over 162,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the country, including 5,284 deaths and over 119,000 recoveries.
Source: Sputnik
