A consignment of 39,900 COVID-l9 vaccine doses of Spuntik-V were distributed to the national health centers. The Ministry of Health said the administration of the first dose can be initiated on May 4, IPN reports.

Under an order signed by secretary of state Denis Cernelea, the managers of medical-sanitary institutions will make sure the vaccine doses are initially administered to older persons and then to those covered by the second stage of the national immunization campaign.

The immunized persons will be issued with a vaccine certificate after they get vaccinated with the first dose. This will contain the date when the person is to be administered the second dose. In the case of Spuntik-V vaccine, the interval between the first and second doses is of 21 days.

According to the Ministry of Health, 251 378 infections with the novel coronavirus have been recorded in Moldova so far. The death toll from COVID-19 stands at 5 850.

As many as 147 315 vaccine doses have been administered by now and 17 097 of the immunized persons got both of the doses.