Russia is ramping up overseas output of its COVID-19 vaccine, pledging to supply shots to almost one in ten people on the planet this year even as it’s produced only a tiny fraction of that so far.

“We have capacity to provide the vaccine to 700 million people outside Russia this year,” Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, which backed Sputnik V’s development and is in charge of its foreign roll-out, said in an interview Wednesday. “The biggest producers will be India, China and South Korea.”

Russia’s success in persuading so far around 50 countries to approve the shot has bolstered its global ambitions, with several million doses already delivered to Latin America led by Argentina and Mexico.

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But the production roll-out has gone slower than RDIF initially forecast and in Russia, take-up of the inoculation has lagged. Dmitriev wouldn’t comment on current output levels at the top foreign producers other than to say they’re “substantial.”

At the moment, the U.S. gives more shots every two weeks than Russia has produced of Sputnik V since the start of the epidemic.

So far, international deliveries remain relatively small as Russia races to boost output. Within Russia, about 13 million two-dose sets have been produced, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said last week. RDIF won’t release data on how many have been shipped abroad and the Kremlin says exports aren’t cutting into local supplies. Public statements from recipient countries put the total at less than 4 million.

Sputnik is being used in about 30 countries, according to RDIF, compared to at least 64 for the Pfizer Inc. vaccine, of which 95 million doses have already been administered globally.

Despite the political push, Russia isn’t offering discounts on Sputnik for low-income countries. In Africa and Latin America, Sputnik sells for the same price of roughly US$10 per dose as in the rest of the world.

Earlier this week, Russia pushed ahead with a drive to manufacture Sputnik in the European Union. RDIF announced a deal to produce it in Italy and discussions with France and Germany. The 27-nation bloc is currently examining a request to approve the use of Sputnik.

Altogether, RDIF has production agreements in 10 countries, Dmitriev said.

Russia has so far inoculated 5 million people, or around 5 shots per 100 adults compared to 36 in the U.K., almost 29 in the U.S. and nearly 10 in the EU, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker. It would take until 2022 to vaccinate 70 per cent of the Russian population if the current rate continues. Officials say they hope to get close to that target by August of this year.

Russia is counting on an “exponential growth” in domestic production to accelerate the vaccination at home, said Dmitriev. By late June, between 40 million and 50 million, all of those who want the vaccination, should have received it, he said, without explaining what would cause the surge in demand.

So far, the roll-out has been plagued by shortages in some regions and the reluctance of Russians to take the jab, even though it’s offered free of charge, according to opinion polls.