3.5 million Russians vaccinated against coronavirus

In a statement released on Monday, Dmitriev said that Russia “is leading in Europe by the number of full vaccination courses against the coronavirus infection completed.” 

However, 3.5 million people constitutes just 2.4% of Russia's 146-million population, meaning it has fully inoculated a smaller share of the population than some countries in the European Union. 

Experts have ascribed the comparatively slow rollout to limited supplies and hesitance among those wary of the rushed approval of Sputnik V. According to government officials, over 13 million two-dose vaccines have been produced as of March 5. A recent poll showed that 62% of Russians are not prepared to take Sputnik V. 

At the same time, dozens of countries around the world have authorised the use of Sputnik V and ordered batches of the shot. In the EU, Hungary became the first country to approve the shot, and Slovakia two weeks ago announced a deal to acquire 2 million doses of Sputnik V. The bloc's pharmaceutical regulator, the European Medicines Agency, has started a rolling review of the vaccine. 

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has said the production of Sputnik V will span a number of countries, including India, South Korea, Brazil, China and others. 

Last week, a deal to produce the vaccine in Italy was announced. Dmitriev said in a statement Monday that the fund has also reached agreements with companies from Spain, France and Germany to launch production of the vaccine. He didn't provide any details about these agreements.