At the TASS news agency’s newsroom, watching a live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual televised phone-in. Getty Images | Gavriil Grigorov | TASS President Vladimir Putin of Russia said on Wednesday that he had received the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccination, as the Kremlin tries to persuade a dubious public of the vaccine’s benefits. “I believed I needed to be shielded for as long as possible. As a result, I decided to get the Sputnik V vaccine. Sputnik V is being administered to the military, and since I am the commander-in-chief, “Putin mentioned this during his annual phone-in session, in which members of the public ask him questions. “I didn’t feel anything at all after the first shot. There was some pain where I had the shot four hours later. At lunchtime, I did the second [shot]. At 12 a.m., I took my temperature. The temperature was 37.2 degrees [Celsius]. I went to sleep and awoke with a temperature of 36.6. That was the end of it “In comments translated by Reuters, Putin remarked. Putin had previously declined to reveal which Covid vaccine he had gotten in March, claiming that the information would be kept a “secret” by the Kremlin. Putin was not filmed or photographed receiving the vaccine, leading to skepticism among the Russian public and the international press that he did not receive it at all. Despite incentives for older individuals to receive the vaccine, there appears to be a reluctance among Russians to acquire a Covid vaccination, despite doubts about Putin’s immunization status. Russia has already approved the use of four home-grown vaccinations and was the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V (its most well-known vaccine), in August. The fact that the vaccine was licensed before clinical studies were completed raised eyebrows among scientists around the world, and it’s thought that this contributed to public mistrust about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. Nonetheless, an interim study of the shot’s phase 3 clinical trials, which enrolled 20,000 people and were published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in early February, indicated that it was 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic Covid-19 infection. Russia has attempted to market its vaccine to a number of countries, mainly its allies. Despite this, vaccination rates in Russia remain low, much to Putin’s dismay. Putin has lauded the benefits of Russia’s Covid vaccinations and encouraged the public to get doses. Its immunization rate lags behind that of many other countries, including India, Mexico, and Brazil. According to our World in Data data, 12 percent of Russia’s population has received two vaccine doses, while 3% has only received one. Putin’s remarks come as Russia battles Covid and the delta form, which are causing surges in Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to Reuters, Russia’s coronavirus task force reported 20,393 new Covid cases on Friday, the largest in a single day since January 24. In Moscow, there were 7,916 new infections, according to the numbers. Since the outbreak began, Russia has had around 5.5 million cases. During the question-and-answer session, Putin discussed a variety of themes with members of the public from throughout Russia, including growing food costs, energy infrastructure, relations with Ukraine, and housing issues. According to TASS news agency, Putin has received almost 1 million queries. Putin underlined on Wednesday that he still does not agree with mandatory vaccination of the public due to the low immunization rate, despite efforts to persuade Russians to accept the injection by threatening them with restrictions and probable job losses if they do not. Officials in Moscow, for example, have stated that 60 percent of service sector employees must receive a first dose of the Covid vaccination by July 15. Continue reading
