PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKIY (Sputnik) – Russia’s Chumakov research centre plans to produce at least 7.5 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine CoviVac by the end of the year, the institute’s director general, Aidar Ishmukhametov, said on Sunday.

“By the end of the year, I suppose there will be about 7.5 million [doses] at least”, Ishmukhametov said to the Rossiya 1 broadcaster.

The head of the centre added they had applied for authorisation from the Russian Health Ministry to administer their vaccine to people over 60 years old, noting that immunity developed after the CoviVac shot would last some eight months.

Russia’s Chumakov research centre officially launched production of the nation’s third coronavirus vaccine, CoviVac, in late March.

CoviVac is a so-called whole-virion vaccine based on a modified SARS-CoV-2 virus that is unable to cause the disease but boosts immunity against coronavirus. The vaccine was developed from samples taken from a COVID-19 patient.