Putin Orders Mass COVID Vaccination in Russia From Next Week

Russia will have produced two million vaccine doses within the next few days, reports said, citing Putin.

File photo of Vladimir Putin. 

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 2 December, ordered authorities to begin mass vaccinations against COVID-19 from next week in Russia, reported Reuters.

Russia will have produced 2 million vaccine doses within the next few days, reported Reuters, citing Putin.

According to the RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the vaccine's interim clinical trial results show 95 percent efficacy on the 42nd day after the first dose.

Putin, according to AFP, in a video conference call, said:

“I would ask you to organise the work so that by the end of next week we will have started this large-scale vaccination.”   

Putin also, according to AFP, said that teachers and medics will be the first to receive the vaccine.

MEANWHILE

This development came on the same day as when the the United Kingdom approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for rollout from 'next week’.

Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla called the UK’s approval of the vaccine a ‘historic moment’ in the battle against COVID-19, AFP further reported.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the development as "fantastic" news that would help life get back to normal, according to Reuters.

(This is a developing story. Will be updated shortly.)