G20 Summit: Russia's Putin urges for mutual acceptance of COVID vaccine certificates

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Saturday at the G20 conference that the G20 countries must work fast to find a solution for mutual acceptance of vaccination certificates. He also said that WHO must speed up the prequalification procedure for new vaccines.

Putin also emphasised that Russia's Sputnik V vaccination has been approved for use in more than 70 countries with a combined population of more than 4 billion people, demonstrating its excellent safety and efficiency. He said that in addition to the two-component Sputnik V vaccine, Russia developed the Sputnik Light, a one-component vaccine that can be used to improve the effectiveness of other vaccines. According to Sputnik, he also said that they are collaborating with European colleagues and providing it to their partners.

Coronavirus will continue to represent a threat for a long time

Given alterations in the coronavirus, Russian President Putin also advised that procedures for modernising vaccinations be established in a systematic and rapid manner in order to keep them effective. According to the president, the coronavirus will continue to represent a threat for a long time.

The Russian president stated that Moscow has always welcomed and will continue to welcome G20 countries' efforts to assist the world's poorest nations and that the global economy's long-term development would be impossible without addressing these concerns, according to Sputnik. He stated that inequality and poverty have recently plagued wealthy countries, including G20 members, and according to him, it is critical to address this issue through economic and fiscal policy measures.

The number of cases and deaths has been at an all-time high

Over a hundred nations have now allowed entrance to travellers from different countries who received the Sputnik V vaccine, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFID). In the meanwhile, on Saturday, Russia reported daily coronavirus cases and deaths at an all-time high with 40,251 new cases, prompting Moscow to shut down non-essential services for 11 days in an effort to tackle the outbreak.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin declared a paid vacation from October 30 to November 7 in a bid to break a streak of daily cases and fatality records that had been set recently.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP