Moscow:
President Vladimir Putin told Russians on Wednesday to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a wave of circumstances, and stated for the initially time that he had received Russia’s Sputnik V shot.
The Kremlin had previously stated that Putin, 68, received a two-dose vaccine in March and April, but it gave no additional information and did not release photos of him finding it.
That lack of publicity has came below the spotlight as officials concerned about slow uptake to coax or compel individuals to get the COVID-19 shots, which are readily out there.
Putin employed his annual televised phone-in on Wednesday to cast Russia’s 4 vaccines as very helpful and protected, although taking a swipe at shots that are extensively employed in the West.
“As you can see, everything is in order, and thank God we don’t have such tragic situations after vaccinations like AstraZeneca or Pfizer,” he stated, adding that 23 million of Russia’s more than 144 million population had been vaccinated.
Asked which shot he’d had, Putin stated he had been asked not to reveal its name so as not to give the solution a competitive benefit, but went on to say it was Sputnik V. Moscow has not authorized any foreign vaccines.
“I thought that I needed to be protected for as long as possible. So I chose to be vaccinated with Sputnik V. The military is getting vaccinated with Sputnik V, and after all I’m the commander-in-chief,” he stated.
“After the first shot, I didn’t feel anything at all. About four hours later, there was some tenderness where I had the shot. I did the second at midday. At midnight, I measured my temperature. It was 37.2 (Celsius). I went to sleep, woke up and my temperature was 36.6. That was it.
“I do not help mandatory vaccination, and I continue to hold this point of view,” Putin said.
Shots for Migrants
Russia launched its inoculation programme in January with the aim of vaccinating 60% of the population by the autumn, but the Kremlin said this week low uptake meant it would fall short of that target.
This week, Moscow began offering the one-dose Sputnik Light shot to some of the millions of migrants, many from Central Asia, that work in the city. The 1,300 rouble ($18) cost of the vaccine will be charged to their employers.
“Covid is everywhere at the moment and I do not want to get infected, so I wanted to get vaccinated,” stated Usanboi, a chef from Uzbekistan, as he queued for a shot.
Russia reported 669 coronavirus-associated deaths nationwide on Wednesday, the highest official every day total due to the fact the pandemic started. It also confirmed 21,042 new circumstances in the prior 24 hours, which includes 5,823 in Moscow.
Officials have blamed the surge in circumstances on the Delta variant.
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