Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN: “Putin has been vaccinated against the coronavirus. (He) is feeling well. Tomorrow he has a full working day.”
Earlier Tuesday, Peskov said the reason the vaccination was not recorded was because Putin “did not like being vaccinated on camera” before adding: “You will have to accept our word for it.”
‘As far as vaccination under the cameras is concerned, he’s never been a supporter [of it]”He does not like it,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman also said the type of vaccine used would not be disclosed, but said it would be one of three Russian vaccines approved: Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona or CoviVac.
“We are deliberately not saying what kind of vaccine the president is going to take, while noting that all three Russian vaccines are absolutely reliable and effective,” Peskov said.
On Tuesday, social media sites were full of mockery that the Russian leader may not have the vaccine at all, with muscles all over the Kremlin strongman who is afraid of needles, or even eager to hide a new tattoo.
Behind the chatter, however, is an upset among some officials that Russia’s most prominent figure – and one whom many Russians are seeking guidance from – was at first reluctant to get a stab, despite having qualified for vaccination since the end of December.
It now appears that Putin may have had a golden opportunity to urge reluctant Russians to be vaccinated.
A recent poll by the Levada Center – an independent, non-governmental and sociological research organization – indicates that only about 30% of the country’s population is in favor of being vaccinated.
Such high vaccine rates have been linked to a historic mistrust by the Russians of their medical institution.
There is also widespread suspicion in the country about the effectiveness of its three indigenous vaccines, one of which – Sputnik V – has been developed at an incredible rate.
In August, Sputnik V became the first approved Covid-19 vaccine anywhere in the world.
The number of Russians vaccinated so far remains unbelievably low: according to the latest official figures, less than 7 million had at least one sting out of a population of almost 146 million.
At least nine Latin American countries have so far approved the use of the Sputnik V vaccine – Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela – and the distribution of the vaccine has also started in Argentina, Bolivia , Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela.
The vaccine has been approved worldwide in at least 56 countries, including European Union countries such as Hungary and Slovakia under the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funds the vaccine production and is responsible for selling it worldwide.