Putin said that the American Moderna vaccine may be “modern” and “completely innovative”, but – in his opinion – its reliability could be assessed within 10 years. On the other hand, Russian vaccines are based on “decades-old” technologies and are thus the safest – he argued. Speaking of the domestic preparations, he described it as “as simple and reliable as a Kalashnikov assault rifle.” He had reservations that this was the opinion of “one of the European specialists”. Meduza portal reported that he used this comparison in February of this year. Austrian expert Florian Thalhammer speaks in the Vienna newspaper “Kronen Zeitung”.

On Thursday, the Russian president spoke at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova, who heads government employees to combat the coronavirus pandemic. So far, Jolikowa said, 13.4 million Russians have taken at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 9.4 million – or 6.6%. Residents of Russia – received two doses.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that so far, 31.9 million complete sets (i.e. the two doses) of vaccines have been produced in Russia. It is basically Sputnik V.

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Vaccinations in Russia

The daily “Kommersant” announced, Thursday, that Russia is now ranked 12th in the world in terms of the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19.

The vaccination campaign began in Russia in December 2020. In a study by the Pro-Government All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VCIOM) published at the end of April, 11 percent of those interviewed said they had already vaccinated against Covid-19.

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Much more – 39 percent. Respondents – stated that they would not be vaccinated. The main reason for hesitation is a fear of side effects – it was indicated by 38 percent. – And another 10 percent. She said she does not believe in the coronavirus pandemic and the need for vaccinations.