6.3M Russians vaccinated against COVID-19: Putin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Over 6.3 million Russians have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the country's president said on Monday.

Speaking at a video conference, Vladimir Putin said 6.3 million people have received their first shot while 4.3 million have been fully vaccinated.

He said he will be inoculated on Tuesday. "Vaccination is, of course, a voluntary choice, a personal decision... I intend to [get a jab] tomorrow."

The president did not specify which vaccines were used to immunize the population but recalled that Russia has at its disposal three vaccines – Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac.

According to Putin, 55 countries with a total population of 1.4 billion people have approved the use of Sputnik V.

He said Russia inked agreements for production of 700 million doses of Sputnik V in many countries.

Mexico and Argentina conducted their own researches regarding the side effects of Sputnik V, and did not find anything harmful, he added.

Commenting on the EU's unwillingness to use Sputnik V, Putin said: "We don't impose anything on anyone. But when we hear such statements from officials, the question arises: whose interests are protected and represented by such people? The interests of some pharmaceutical companies or the interests of citizens of European countries?"

Russia needs 69.8 million doses to immunize 60% of the population, and it has "all possibilities to manufacturer these volumes," the president said.

As of March 17, over 20 million of two-component kits of Sputnik V were produced in the country, while 8.9 million kits of Sputnik V and 115,000 kits of EpiVacCorona were put into circulation.

With 9,284 new COVID-19 cases, the overall caseload has risen to 4.46 million, including 95,391 related deaths and 4.07 million recoveries.

The country registered a record 29,935 infections and 635 virus-linked deaths on Dec. 24, 2020.

Mass vaccinations in Moscow began on Dec. 5 before a nationwide rollout.