BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's Ministry of Health on Wednesday approved the use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 "on an emergency basis."

This vaccine "is presented as a safe and effective therapeutic tool ... to lower mortality, reduce morbidity and decrease the transmissibility of the disease," said a resolution signed by the Minister of Health Gines Gonzalez Garcia.

The authorization is the second of the kind granted by Argentina, following one issued Tuesday night for the vaccine produced by the Pfizer-BioNTech laboratories.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) noted in a statement that Argentina is the first Latin American country to officially register Sputnik V in its territory.

"The registration was carried out through an emergency authorization. The vaccine was approved by the regulator ANMAT (National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices) without additional clinical trials in Argentina and based on the results of phase III clinical trials carried out in Russia," the RDIF said.

Argentina registered its first case of COVID-19 on March 3 and reported a total of 1,563,865 cases and 42,314 deaths as of Wednesday night.