MEXICO CITY (REUTERS) - Panama has sought to acquire more than eight million coronavirus vaccine doses to inoculate about 80 per cent of the Central American nation's residents, Health Minister Luis Sucre said on Sunday (Feb 7).

Panama has a population of about 4.2 million people, but most coronavirus vaccines require two shots spaced several weeks apart.

Panama has requested about one million doses from the Covid-19 vaccine portfolio under the Covax facility coordinated by the World Health Organisation to support lower-income countries, Dr Sucre said.

Panama will acquire a further three million doses from US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Inc and the same amount from Russia, which has developed the Sputnik V vaccine.

Panama also aims to acquire 1.1 million doses manufactured by AstraZeneca Plc and 300,000 shots produced by Johnson & Johnson, Dr Sucre added.