Russia to vaccinate high risk groups against COVID-19 towards end of year - agencies

A handout photo shows vials during the production of "Gam-COVID-Vac" vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), at Binnopharm pharmaceutical company in Zelenograd near Moscow, Russia August 7, 2020. Picture taken August 7, 2020. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)/Andrey Rudakov/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Monday that mass vaccination of high risk groups in the country against COVID-19 would begin in November-December this year, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia this month became the first country to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, prompting international experts to question its safety and efficacy.

(Reporting by Polina Ivanova; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Alison Williams)