Armenia will soon receive a new batch of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine against the coronavirus, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan told reporters on Wednesday, April 7, according to Armenpress.

The 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which Armenia bought in late March are still in the process of customs clearance and distribution Avanesyan added.

The Minister said the country's health authorities are waiting for a final evaluation of the jabs which the EU and WHO are set to release in the next few days. Only after that Armenia will decide which age groups is getting the AstraZeneca vaccines, she said.

A senior official at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said there is a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare cases of blood clots reported across the continent. However, the EMA said earlier that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.

Avanesyan noted that the Sputnik-V vaccination program is also ongoing. “We will soon receive a new batch of Sputnik-V and broaden the scope of people [eligible for vaccination],” she said.

Armenia purchased the first batch AstraZeneca vaccines – 24,000 doses – in late March, which will be used to inoculate people aged over 65, those who have underlying health conditions, medical workers, residents and staff of elderly care centers, as well as social care center employees in the first phase of the country's vaccination program. The Chief of the Prime Minister's Staff, ex-Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan said earlier that the government is planning to purchase several hundred thousand doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus.