President Putin of Russia said his country has registered its first COVID-19 vaccines, calling it effective protection against the deadly pathogen, and disclosed that one of his own daughters had already received it.
President Puttin in his claim said, the COVID-19 Vaccines has even been given to his daughter, despite concerns that the product has not been properly tested.
“As far as I know, this morning the first COVID-19 vaccines against the novel coronavirus infection in the world was registered this morning,” Putin said Tuesday at a televised government meeting.
The announcement represents a propaganda coup for the Kremlin amid a global race to develop COVID-19 vaccines against the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 750,000 people, infected more than 20 million and crippled national economies.
“I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks,” Putin said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
He said he hoped Russia would soon start mass-producing the vaccine, and added that one of his two daughters had been given the treatment.
That daughter had a slight temperature, of 38 degrees centigrade, but it quickly abated, he said. “That was all.”
The Russian health ministry’s move to roll out the so-called Gamaleya vaccine as quickly as possible has raised concerns because it has not yet undergone Phase III trials, which are considered essential to guarantee the safety of a vaccine.
Analysts have suggested that Russia’s desire to be seen as a global scientific leader is behind a politically-driven push to distribute a vaccine, with the possibility of corners being cut in the process.
“As far as I know, a vaccine against the coronavirus infection has been registered this morning (in Russia) for the first time in the world,” Putin said according to a translation from state broadcaster RT. “I thank everyone who worked on the vaccine – it’s a very important moment for the whole world.”
“I hope our foreign colleagues’ work will move as well, and a lot of products will appear on an international market that could be used,” Putin said, according to CNN’s translation.
Companies including AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc. are still conducting final-stage trials of their COVID-19 vaccines in studies that are expected to soon yield results. Some pharmaceutical companies have called Russia’s rushed registration dangerous, Bloomberg reports.