Uzbekistan to buy Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, also to produce Russian vaccine

Uzbekistan plans to purchase 100,000 doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine and set up domestic production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, its health ministry said on Monday.

The Central Asian nation of 34 million people is working on the Pfizer-BioNTech deal together with vaccine alliance Gavi, the ministry said in a statement. Separately, Russia's RIA news agency quoted the Uzbek health ministry as saying that it planned to issue a certificate for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and set up its production in Uzbekistan.