Zelaya receives Russian virus vaccine in Venezuela

Former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was given a shot of Russia's experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Monday. He travelled to Venezuela to receive the injection after volunteering to take part in Phase 3 trials of the potential vaccine. Venezuelan state television showed Zelaya lying on a bed as a nurse gave him the shot in his arm.

Venezuela is the first Latin American country to participate in the testing process, after batches of the vaccine arrived from Russia more than a fortnight ago. Western experts have expressed scepticism over the Sputnik V vaccine, arguing that it had been tested on just a few dozen people when Moscow announced it was pressing ahead with mass trials.

Zelaya, who was toppled in a coup in 2009, was a close ally of Venezuela's former leader Hugo Chavez. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said Zelaya was a welcome guest, and expressed delight that he was taking part in the trials. Venezuela has recorded a total of more than 86,000 coronavirus cases, with a death toll of 736. 

(Image Credits: AP)