Argentine authorities have said COVID-19 vaccines will be “mandatory” and free in Argentina for people over 18, when it is eventually ready for application, Xinhua news agency reported quoting an official from the country’s Ministry of Health.

The ministry’s chief of staff Lisandro Bonelli said in an interview with a local radio that the vaccine will be “mandatory” to protect both individual and collective interests.

”People more than 60 who have comorbidities as well as essential healthcare workers and security personnel will have priority for getting vaccinated before the rest of the population that is over 18”, he said.

The government plans to initially obtain 10 million doses of the Russian Sputnik ‘V’ vaccine by the end of December, should the vaccine’s Phase III clinical trials be successful.

Another 15 million doses would be acquired by January, contingent on validating all the procedures of national and international regulations, said Mr. Bonelli.

He added that the maximum term for applying the vaccine would be the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2021.

The first COVID-19 case in Argentina was first recorded on March 3, more than 1,195,000 confirmed cases of infection and more than 32,000 deaths from the disease have been reported since then.