Russia first to register vaccine against COVID-19, says Putin

Russia has registered the world’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

“As far as I know, this morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus infection has been registered,” Putin said during an online meeting with the Russian government.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko confirmed at the meeting that the vaccine issued in Russia is the first in the world, while other countries are conducting clinical studies of vaccines under development.

Murashko said that the new vaccine, after passing all necessary checks, showed that it forms a stable immunity.

Putin said he hoped that

the mass production of the vaccine registered in Russia should begin in the near future, and vaccination will be available to everyone in the country voluntarily.

“The main thing, of course, is that in the future we can ensure the unconditional safety of this vaccine and its effectiveness,” Putin said, congratulating everyone who worked on the drug.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said at the meeting that she expected the production of the vaccine to start at the end of August or the beginning of September and health workers will be the first to be vaccinated.

Putin said one of his daughters had been vaccinated against the coronavirus was feeling well afterward.

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Russia’s COVID-19 cases near 900,000

Russia registered 4,945 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 897,599, the country’s COVID-19 response center said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 130 new deaths were reported, taking the nationwide toll to 15,131.

Moscow, the country’s worst-hit region, reported 694 newly confirmed cases, taking its tally of infections to 248,922, the response center said.

According to the statement, 703,175 people have recovered so far, including 6,494 over the past day.

As of Monday, 239,495 people were still under medical observation, while over 31 million tests have been conducted across the country, Russia’s consumer rights and human well-being watchdog said Tuesday in a separate statement.