Coronavirus Pandemic
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has not been administered the state developed Coronavirus vaccine because it is still being tested, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“The head of state cannot take part in the vaccination as a volunteer,’’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Pesko said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.
Russia was the first country to introduce a vaccine against the novel Coronavirus to be used by the general public. The Sputnik V vaccine is currently undergoing an advanced trial with 40,000 volunteers.
“The president cannot use an uncertified vaccine,’’ Peskov said. The testing period will soon conclude and Putin could then decide whether to use the vaccine, he added.
The Sputnik V vaccine is named after the first man-made satellite to reach orbit, Sputnik-1, a triumph of the Soviet Union in the space race with rival superpower the U. S in the late 1950s.
Putin has personally endorsed the vaccine, saying his daughter took it successfully without experiencing any side effect worse than a slight, temporary fever. (dpa/NAN)
– Nov. 24, 2020 @ 16:05 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: Putin yet to take vaccine – Spokesperson
