Mexican health regulator Cofepris has approved the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told a regular evening news conference on Tuesday.

The approval came shortly after scientists on Tuesday gave the vaccine the green light, saying it was almost 92 percent effective in fighting COVID-19 based on peer-reviewed late-stage trial results published in The Lancet.

Mexico has so far recorded more than 1.8 million confirmed cases and nearly 160,000 deaths.

(With input from Reuters)