Palestinians receive first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

FILE PHOTO: A medical specialist holds a vial of Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a department store in Moscow, Russia, January 18, 2021 REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo

The Palestinians received 10,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday to help jumpstart their COVID-19 inoculation campaign, officials said.

Health Minister Mai Alkaila told Voice of Palestine Radio the supply would be enough to vaccinate 5,000 people, who would each be given two shots.

The shipment was flown into Israel and transported from there to Ramallah, the Palestinian hub city in the occupied West Bank.

FILE PHOTO: Empty vials of the second dose of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine are pictured in Buenos Aires, Argentina January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Alkaila said a shipment of vaccines from China would also be arriving, but did not specify a date or which vaccine. A batch of around 37,000 doses from the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme is expected later this month.

The West Bank, where 3.1 million Palestinians live, has reported 101,‮508‬ coronavirus cases, with 1,27‮6‬ deaths. Gaza, with a population of two million, has registered more than 52,000 cases with 527 deaths.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Ari Rabinovitch and Angus MacSwan)