Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he had yet to be inoculated with a Russian-made vaccine against Covid-19 but would do so when possible for his age range.
Speaking at his annual press conference, the 68-year-old leader said Russia's vaccine was safe and effective, reported Reuters.
However, at his age, he’s too old for those that are available now.
“Experts tell us that the vaccines now available are intended for citizens in a specific age category," Putin told his annual press conference on Thursday. “The vaccines haven’t reached people like me. I’ll do it as soon as it becomes possible," he said, reported Bloomberg.
The Russian President also called for all the citizens to get vaccinated against coronavirus. He also added that Russia needed time to increase capacity for vaccine production.
During the press conference, Putin also said that Russia lacked equipment to produce enough of coronavirus vaccine.
On August 11, Russia registered, which happens to be, the world’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, even before final trials. The vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, was developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute.
The vaccine, called “Sputnik V" in homage to the world’s first satellite launched by the Soviet Union, has been hailed as safe and effective by Russian authorities and scientists.
Recently, the Russian-made vaccine has been proven to be 91.4 per cent effective in providing protection against COVID-19 and has demonstrated 100 per cent efficacy against severe coronavirus cases, the vaccine's developers said.
"The efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine is 91.4 per cent, based on the final control point analysis of data obtained 21 days after administering the first dose," Gamaleya Center and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.
The vaccine demonstrated 100 per cent efficacy against severe coronavirus cases, it added.
Based on the data obtained at the third control point, the Gamaleya Center will create a report that will be used to submit for accelerated registration of the Sputnik V vaccine in various countries, the statement said.
The vaccine supplies for the global market will be produced by RDIF's international partners in India, Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries, the statement further said.
In November, RDIF and pharma firm Hetero had agreed to produce over 100 million doses per year of the Sputnik V vaccine in India.
Earlier in September, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and RDIF had entered into a partnership for conducting clinical trials of Sputnik V and distributing it in India.
With agency inputs
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