MEXICO CITY: Mexico is very close to signing a contract for Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and the first shipment of around 200,000 doses could arrive next week, a Mexican official said on Tuesday.

Juan Ferrer Aguilar, a senior health official, was speaking at a regular government news conference a day after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador telephoned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and announced Russia would supply Mexico with 24 million doses over the next two months.

Ferrer said the finishing touches were being put on the contract for the deal, and that it could be signed on Tuesday.

Mexico is trying to secure as much vaccine supply as possible amid delays of some products and has said it plans to administer 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V through March.

However, Mexican health regulators have not yet authorized the use of Sputnik V.

Lopez Obrador announced on Sunday he was infected with the coronavirus. He has kept up his strength and is recovering well, Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said on Tuesday.