Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the country's homegrown Covid-19 vaccine was as "reliable as a Kalashnikov [AK-47] assault rifle" as the Russian health officials authorised a single-dose version of the Sputnik V jab, dubbed Sputnik Light.
Sputnik V, which in February was announced to be 92 per cent effective, has been approved for emergency use in 64 countries but has yet to be authorised in the European Union.
The Mexican health ministry said yesterday production of the jab in the country was likely to begin in the final week of June.
Russia has also developed and registered two other coronavirus vaccines but their clinical data have not been through a stringent peer review like Sputnik V.