Moscow, 11th August 2020: On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country had registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, named ‘Sputnik V’.
“As far as I know, a vaccine against the coronavirus infection has been registered this morning (in Russia) for the first time in the world,” the President told members of the government. “I thank everyone who worked on the vaccine – it’s an especially important moment for the whole world.
Putin insisted that vaccination in Russia should only be carried out on a voluntary basis, with nobody forced to accept immunization. “I know that it works rather effectively, forms a stable immunity, and, I repeat, it passed all the necessary inspections,” the president added. The president said that one of his daughters had tested the drug on herself.
Details about Vaccine “Sputnik V”
- The Russian Ministry of Health registered ‘Sputnik V’ as a solution to be injected for Covid-19.
- According to the results of clinical studies, the vaccine has shown both high efficacy and safety.
- All the volunteers developed high titers [concentration levels] of antibodies to Covid-19, “none of them had serious complications” after receiving the vaccine.
- After vaccination, immunity to Covid-19 can last up to two years, the Health Ministry claimed.
- President Putin expects that mass production of the coronavirus vaccine will begin soon.
- The Vaccine will be produced at two sites: The Russian Ministry of Health’s Gamaleya Institute and the domestic biopharmaceutical company Binnopharm.
- Medical workers and teachers will be the first to receive the vaccine.
- Vaccination of medical professionals could begin in late August or September.
- “Sputnik V’ will be available to the public on January 1, 2021.
- Vaccination will be voluntary in Russia.
- Russia receives orders from 20 countries for ONE BILLION doses of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine. A total of 20 nations from Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia have already requested doses of Russia’s breakthrough coronavirus vaccine, which was confirmed to be registered on Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- “Together with our foreign partners, we are ready to produce more than 500 million doses of the vaccine per year,” Russian official explained. Everything produced in Russia will be used domestically, and doses for use in other countries will be made abroad.
- Russia is also working on a humanitarian aid program for developing countries, with the aim of making the Covid-19 vaccine available in states that cannot afford to make or buy their own.