Putin to get Russian coronavirus vaccine

Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to receive a coronavirus vaccine, state media reported on Sunday. 

“He said he will be vaccinated, he made this decision and was waiting until all formalities are completed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya 1 TV Channel, Reuters reported. 

Putin, 68, has previously suggested there was no reason for him to be vaccinated, and said the country would focus its vaccination efforts on the elderly and higher-risk individuals. 

The country announced earlier this year it had developed what it claimed to be a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. 

Putin said one of his daughters took part in a clinical trials for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in August, according to Reuters.

Public health officials in the United States have approved two vaccines for public use, the first doses of which have been administered in recent weeks. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence have both publicly take the vaccine to help strengthen public trust in its safety. 

Other former U.S. presidents have said they would do the same.

President Trump, who was diagnosed with and recovered from the coronavirus earlier this year, so far has not taken the vaccine publicly or announced plans to do so. It is likely that he has developed antibodies to the virus.