Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced that the country has launched the first coronavirus vaccine touted as the world's first, too. He said his daughter has received a shot of the vaccine, approved by Russia's health ministry. "As far as I know, this morning for the first time in the world a vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection was registered," the president said.
The Russian president said that his daughter had a slight temperature after being given the vaccine, but that it quickly went away. The vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry, received the green light from the Russian Health Ministry on Tuesday, Putin revealed.
The COVID-19 vaccine has been regiestered after less than two months of human testing. However, allaying concerns, Putin said: “I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks."
He said that he hoped that Russia would soon start mass production of the Covid-19 vaccine. The development paves the way for the mass inoculation of the Russian population, even as the final stage of clinical trials to test safety and efficacy continue.
Putin expressed confidence that he knows the vaccine will "work quite effectively" and "form a stable immunity". The president also asked Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to keep him further informed about the vaccine.
Congratulating all involved in the development of the vaccine, Putin described it as "a very important step for the world".
While the Russian government was swiftly moving to claim victory over the first COVID vaccine, pharmaceutical companies have warned Russia against the use of the vaccine on civilians as clinical trials are yet to be completed. Russia’s elite has been given the experimental vaccine as early as April.
