Putin Says He Will Get Vaccinated Against Coronavirus On March 23

By RFE/RL's Russian Service March 22, 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he will get vaccinated against coronavirus on March 23.

"Vaccination, of course, is a voluntary decision for every person. It is every person's personal decision," Putin said at a televised government meeting on March 22 about Russian vaccines against COVID-19.

"By the way I plan to do this tomorrow," he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later that Putin will get "one of the three Russian-made vaccines, each of which is good and reliable."

Peskov added that Putin's vaccination will not be a public event.

Putin said it was vital to ramp up production of vaccines for domestic use. So far, some 4.3 million people in Russia have received both doses of a two-shot vaccine.

Russia has developed three COVID-19 vaccines -- Sputnik V by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow; EpiVacCorona, produced by the Vector Institute in Novosibirsk; and CoviVac, from the Chumakov Center in St. Petersburg.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-vaccinated-against -coronavirus-march-23/31163890.html

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