MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, but off the camera, his spokesman said, raising questions about whether the gesture will serve to raise rates relatively. immunization losses in the country.
Asked if the Kremlin will release photos or video of Putin receiving the injection, Dmitry Peskov told a telephone press conference that “they should take (our) word for it.”
“When it comes to getting vaccinated in front of the cameras, he doesn’t support it, he doesn’t like it,” Peskov said.
The spokesman refused to clarify whether Putin will go to a vaccination center or if the vaccine will be delivered to his office or residence, saying only that “it will be done in such a way that it less affects” his work schedule.
On Monday, during a government meeting, Putin announced that he would be vaccinated. The vaccination campaign began several months ago in Russia, and critics have said Putin’s hesitancy to get vaccinated contributes to the widespread reluctance.
Only 6.3 million people, 4.3% of the 146 million inhabitants, have received at least the first dose. The country lags far behind others in the vaccination rate. Polls by Russia’s leading pollster Levada Center have revealed that the number of people reluctant to get vaccinated with locally made Sputnik V rose from 58% in December to 62% in February.
A recent study by the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet revealed that Sputnik V is 91% effective and apparently prevents those vaccinated from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, although it is not yet clear that transmission of the disease can be prevented.
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