After Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, Jordan announced the possibility of obtaining the COVID-19 Russian vaccine Sputnik V.
The vaccine will be added to the list of jabs approved so far by the kingdom’s health authorities.
“We discussed ongoing cooperation in coronavirus combat and the possibility of getting the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to be given to Jordanians and refugees alike,” Safadi said.
“We in Jordan pay attention to refugees the same degree as to Jordanians. The first refugee to be vaccinated in the world was in Jordan.”
Jordan to be vaccinated
Jordan began a mass immunization campaign early in January. So far, the kingdom has approved the Chinese Sinopharm and the US-German Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.
Jordan’s Health Minister Nathir Obeidat has said priority is being given to the elderly with chronic conditions, and those with the highest exposure such as frontline health care workers.
The minister said the vaccines are free of charge to foreign residents as well as Jordanians.
Jordanian health officials have confirmed that the vaccines are safe urging Jordanians to register on the relevant website.
King Abdullah and the crown prince were vaccinated on Jan. 14. “I received the vaccine, in line with public health recommendations. And I made it a point to take the vaccine in front of cameras so that everyone realizes that it is a safe and easy process,” the king told the Jordan News Agency.
“I experienced some mild side effects, and I felt tired and had trouble sleeping for a couple of days after receiving the shot, but that is a small price to pay compared with actually catching the virus.”
Jordan has recorded about 33,000 cases of COVID-19 and 4,334 related deaths.
The Jordanian Parliament is scheduled to hold a special session on Sunday to discuss the health, economic and social consequences of the pandemic, upon a request by 26 MPs.
Russian Sputnik V vaccine
In the same context, the BBC said Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine gives around 92% protection against Covid-19, late stage trial results published in The Lancet reveal.
the vaccine has been considered to be safe offering complete protection against hospitalization and death.
After being rolled out before the final trial data had been released, the vaccine was initially met with some controversy.
At the meantime, scientists say its benefit has now been demonstrated.
It joins the ranks of proven vaccines alongside Pfizer, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen.
The Sputnik vaccine works in a similar way to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab developed in the UK, and the Janssen vaccine developed in Belgium.
Russian vaccine Sputnik V uses a cold-type virus, as a carrier to deliver a small fragment of the coronavirus to the body. It is engineered to be harmless.
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