MOSCOW, Tuesday, August 11, 2020 (WAFA) – The industrial production for the world's first vaccine against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will begin in September and will be ready to distribute by early 2021, said Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) today.

He said that 20 countries have already ordered more than one billion doses of the vaccine, stating that that the first category to be vaccinated will be medical personnel and teachers.

Tatiana Golikova, Russian deputy prime minister, expressed hope that the vaccinations for medical personnel will begin in the upcoming weeks.

K.T./T.R.