MOSCOW.- The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced today that he will be vaccinated tomorrow, Tuesday, against covid-19, in a videoconference with government officials about the vaccination campaign in the country.
“By the way, I myself intend to do it tomorrow,” Putin told the meeting, which was broadcast on television.
Putin did not reveal which vaccine he will be given, but his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, later assured that it will be one of three produced in the country, which are “all good and reliable.”
Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in Russia, last January, the question about when Putin would be vaccinated has been one of the most recurrent in the Kremlin press conferences, since it was considered natural for the president to set an example.
At today’s meeting Putin highlighted the role of preventive measures, “in particular, mass vaccination” in normalizing the epidemic situation in the country, which registers 4.46 million cases and 95,391 deaths from coronavirus.
In the last day, 9,284 new cases have been reported throughout the country.
“In total, 6.3 million people have already been vaccinated with the first component, and of these, 4.3 million have been fully vaccinated, that is, they have received the first and second component of the vaccine,” said the president .
Putin stressed that the Russian vaccines, Sputnik V, EpivacCorona and CoviVac, the last to be registered by the Ministry of Health, are completely safe.
“Today we can safely say, and practice shows, that Russian vaccines are completely reliable and safe. Furthermore, none of the foreign analog preparations offers such a high level of protection, ‘he added.
Putin pointed out that Sputnik V, the first registered anticovid vaccine in the world, has already been authorized by 55 countries and that there are agreements with foreign producers for the production in their territories of 700 million doses a year.
“Our pharmaceutical companies must take into account the dynamics of the global market and the demand for our vaccine to develop their productive capacities,” he said.
The Russian Minister of Health, Mikhail Murashko, explained that Russia has agreed to transfer technology for the production of Sputnik V with 10 countries in order to meet external demand.
At the same time, Putin stressed, the “indisputable priority” is to satisfy domestic demand.
The Russian president assured that Moscow does not intend to impose its vaccine on anyone in response to the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who in statements to a French television station said: “We have no need for Sputnik V.”
«They are strange statements. We do not impose anything on anyone, “Putin said, adding:” When you hear these statements from senior officials, the question arises: What interests do these people defend and represent? The interests of some pharmaceutical companies or the interests of European citizens? ‘
The Russian president indicated that despite the smear campaign launched against the vaccine in his country, “the geography of employment of Sputnik V is growing actively.”
Murashko pointed out that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has communicated that on April 10 it will send a group of experts to Russia to supervise the clinical trials of Sputnik V that are carried out in the country.
The EMA announced on March 4 the beginning of the “continuous review” process, a real-time analysis of data on the safety, efficacy and quality of Sputnik-V, a process that could lead to the authorization of its use. of this drug in the European Union (EU).