Kazakhstan will be the first country in the world to locally produce Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, after a pharmaceutical company received government authorisation to make the jab, the company said.

The company, called the Karaganda Pharmaceutical Complex (KPC), “was granted certification” to produce the vaccine by Kazakhstan's health ministry on Monday, KPC said in a statement on the Telegram messenger service.

A spokesman for the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financed the development of the two-dose jab, told AFP that Kazakhstan is the first country to begin local production of Sputnik V.

He said Brazil, India and South Korea are expected to follow.