Russia begins producing third COVID-19 vaccine

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Russia has started producing CoviVac, its third vaccine against COVID-19.

The new vaccine will soon be made available for use in its regions, though phase three trials are still under way, officials said on Thursday.

The most well-known Russian coronavirus vaccine is Sputnik V. Moscow has also given emergency approval to two shots, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac.

"The third Russian vaccine is entering civilian circulation and will appear in the regions in the coming days," the Science and Higher Education Ministry said in a statement.

The Chumakov Centre plans to produce up to 10 million doses of the vaccine a year, the ministry said.

Science Minister Valery Falkov said that phase three trials of the vaccine had begun, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Chumakov Centre's director said phase three trials would be completed within half a year, Interfax reported.