Reuters
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Vials of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine are seen at the Del-Pest Central Hospital in Budapest, Hungary, February 12, 2021. Zoltan Balogh/MTI/MTVA/Pool via REUTERS
LIMA, July 20 (Reuters) - Peru has signed a deal to purchase 20 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, a move to shore up the hard-hit Andean nation's defenses over fears of a potential third wave of coronavirus.
Officials said the agreement, signed with the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, would ensure the arrival of the vaccines within "the next few months."
Peru is among the most battered countries in Latin America by the pandemic, a predicament that has left its hospitals near collapse and often outstripped the availability of oxygen tanks. The country in late May tripled its official death count from the virus and leads the world in deaths per 100,000 inhabitants from the disease.