Bahraini authorities have authorised the use of a booster dose of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first time the Russian shot has been approved for a third dose, the state-run Bahrain News Agency said on Saturday.
The booster shot was approved for use among all over-18s at least six months after receiving their second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, the news agency reported.
Bahrain has already approved third booster shots using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The small island nation's COVID-19 infections are decreasing, currently at 3% of their peak with 95 new infections reported on average each day, according to the Reuters COVID-19 Tracker.
There have been 272,709 infections and 1,388 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Bahrain, which has a population of roughly 1.7 million according to the World Bank.
So far nearly 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, enough to inoculate about 76% of the population, assuming each person needs two doses.
Typhoon Kalmaegi kills at least 58 in the Philippines, heads toward Vietnam
At least 3 killed after UPS plane crashes in Kentucky, erupts into ball of fire
Former US VP Dick Cheney dies at 84
Dozens killed, army helicopter downed as Typhoon Kalmaegi hits Philippines
Trump threatens to cut funds for New York City if Mamdani wins mayoral race
