Putin gets second dose of Russian vaccine: report
Russian President Vladimir Putin has received the second dose of a Russian coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the Interfax news agency.
Putin received his first inoculation last month, but refused to disclose which vaccine he was given. The Kremlin, according to Reuters, did not reveal any details or provide photographs of the vaccination.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters last month, “We are deliberately not saying which shot the president will get,” adding that all three of the possible Russian-made vaccines are “absolutely reliable and effective.”
The most well-known of the Russian vaccines is Sputnik V, which has faced international criticism over its testing before release.
Last week, Germany’s health minister revealed that the European Union executive commission will not order doses of Sputnik V for its member countries.
Health Minister Jens Spahn told the EU health ministers that Germany “will talk bilaterally to Russia, first of all about when what quantities could come,” to see if ordering the doses from the country makes sense.
“To really make a difference in our current situation, the deliveries would have to come in the next two to four or five months already,” Spahn said, adding that if delivered on any other time frame, Germany would have “more than enough vaccine” already.
As of Wednesday, according to The New York Times, 3.8 percent of Russia’s population has been fully vaccinated.