GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Russia and Guatemala are in talks over delayed deliveries of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine but the Central American country has not asked for its money back, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Wednesday.
Guatemalan Health Minister Amelia Flores said the country was requesting a refund after paying some $80 million in April for 8 million doses of the vaccine. It has received just 150,000 of the shots.
The RDIF, which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said a negotiation is underway to ensure deliveries through 2021 but did not back Flores’ remarks.
“There’s been no request to refund money paid for Sputnik V delivery,” the RDIF said in a statement.
“What is being discussed are possible adjustments to supply schedule and delivery amounts throughout the rest of 2021 to ensure uninterrupted vaccination of Guatemala’s population by both doses of Sputnik V.”
An RDIF spokesman on Tuesday said more shipments would reach Guatemala both this week and the following as part of the supply contract.
Guatemala, with 18 million inhabitants, has only fully inoculated 158,000 people, just as COVID-19 infections have hit a peak.
Flores did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the RDIF’s Wednesday statement.
On Tuesday, she told lawmakers in Congress that Guatemala was asking for its money back and to pay for future shipments upon delivery.
“We are requesting… a refund of the money,” she said.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Sofia Menchu, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; editing by Diane Craft)
