Peru discusses private access to Russian vaccine

A Peruvian presidential candidate on Friday called on the government to let private entities buy Russia's COVID-19 vaccine.

Cesar Acuña, the presidential candidate for the Peruvian Alliance for Progress, also met the Russian ambassador on Friday to discuss the possibility of private businesses buying the Sputnik V vaccine.

Ambassador Igor V. Romanchenko replied that the decision was in the government's hands, according to Acuña.

Peru's health authority has not yet approved the Sputnik V vaccine, while the government has relied on the Chinese Sinopharm's vaccine that was also tested in the country.

President Francisco Sagasti said that no private entities were currently in charge of vaccine acquisition and inoculation.

He also warned that counterfeit vaccines were a danger across the globe, and that vaccine administration should be handled by the government.

Acuña called on Sagasti to change that stance.

In February, the government confirmed that nearly 500 people received an early vaccination ahead of health workers, using samples made available while Sinopharm tested the vaccine in 2020.

The surreptitious vaccinations included a then-president, his wife and brother, rousing anger over inequality in a country that has been badly battered by the pandemic, which has taken the lives of at least 310 doctors.