Russian Cosmonauts, Training Center Staffers Receive Sputnik V COVID-19 Shots, Roscosmos Says

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - Cosmonauts and employees of the training center in Russia's Zvyozdny Gorodok near Moscow on Friday received their first shots against the coronavirus disease, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

According to Roscosmos, cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Nikolay Chub were the first to be vaccinated with Sputnik V in the corps of 30 people.

"The test cosmonauts underwent a preliminary medical examination, which is mandatory before immunization. Several other employees of the [Cosmonaut Training] Center, who directly interact with the cosmonauts during training, also received the first component of the two-component vaccine," the agency said in a statement.

In September, the International Space Station (ISS)-64 commander, Sergey Ryzhikov, said the flight crew of the expedition to the ISS would not be vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of their liftoff in October.

Member of the main crew of ISS-52/53 Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky after the comprehensive training using the 'Teleoperator' simulator at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

© Sputnik / Eugene Odinokov

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The Cosmonaut Training Center, together with the cosmonaut corps, is one of the first enterprises in the space industry to take part in a large-scale vaccination against coronavirus in Russia.