Putin affirms Russian population to be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccine over export

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Vladimir Putin reiterated his priorities about vaccinating Russians against COVID-19 over exporting the vaccine abroad on Wednesday, October 21. During a board meeting with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Putin is reported to have stated that while exporting the potential COVID-19 vaccine was also important, it was still a ‘second question’ and that the priority was to vaccinate Russians.

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Russia first

The Russian President during his address said, "The main task today is to create production capacities to increase output. And these production capacities should be aimed at vaccinating citizens of Russia in the first place. As for export work, this is an important task, but, of course, you can just sell it, but better decide how: let our partners create such production facilities in their countries, and we will organize for them the production of our vaccine there, at their production facilities".

Last week, Russian authorities gave regulatory approval to a second potential COVID-19 vaccine after encouraging early test results. This announcement was made just two months after Russia announced its first potential COVID-19 vaccine that drew criticisms from the scientific community.

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The second COVID-19 vaccine was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, October 14 during a televised meeting. This vaccine has been developed by Vector Institute in Siberia and is called EpiVacCorona and is reported to have been already tested on 100 volunteers in early-stage placebo-controlled human trials, which lasted more than two months. While official results from the early trials are yet to be published, the scientists involved with the study have stated that the vaccine protects the person from COVID-19 for up to six months.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 40 million people worldwide with the global death toll crossing 1,100,000. Russia has reported more than 1 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 20,000.

(With ANI inputs, Image AP)

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