Health Minister defends Armenia's purchase of AstraZeneca vaccineApril 1, 2021 - 19:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan on Thursday, April 1 defended Armenia's purchase of 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, maintaining that reported side effects linked to the vaccine have not been proved. Avanesyan said the country will use the jabs from AstraZeneca and other manufacturers that have been approved by international agencies as producing effective and safe drugs, the Armenian Service of RFE/RL reports. "A number of countries have temporarily halted [vaccination with AstraZeneca shots], some others have resumed, while many had not abandoned [the program] in the first place," the Health Minister said when asked about the safety of the jabs. The first batch of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine 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. The Chief of the Prime Minister's Staff, ex-Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan said earlier that the Armenian government is planning to purchase several hundred thousand doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with Stephan Schütz, Executive Partner at Gerkan, Marg and Partners. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. Partner news | Armenia Security Council chief traveling to Qatar Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will travel on a working visit to Qatar. Armenian Foreign Minister regrets “tragic loss” of Iranian counterpart The Armenian Foreign Ministry has expressed shock over the death of the Iranian President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |