Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his country has officially registered the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine that offers “sustainable immunity.”
Putin stressed during a government meeting that the “Sputnik V” vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute has undergone proper testing and was proven safe to use, adding that one of his two adult daughters has already been inoculated and is doing well.
“This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered” in Russia, Putin said during a video conference. “I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests. The most important thing is to ensure full safety of using the vaccine and its efficiency.”
Amid skepticism surrounding the vaccine, Putin added that his daughter had a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit on the day of the first shot, and then it dropped to just over 98.6 degrees the following day.
While Russia has pressed to quickly develop a vaccine of “several million doses per month” by 2021, the World Health Organization last week urged it to follow established guidelines and go “through all the stages” necessary to develop a safe vaccine.
