MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to get vaccinated by the end of the day, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
According to him, Putin is currently holding "working meetings." "We expect that he will get a vaccine shot by the end of the day," Peskov said.
The Kremlin will not disclose which COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to Russian President Vladimir Putin because all three Russian jabs are reliable and effective, the spokesman said.
The Kremlin representative underlined that Putin would get "one of the three" Russian vaccines. "We will specifically not say which one. All three Russian vaccines are absolutely reliable, they are very good, safe and effective," he explained. "We deliberately don’t say which particular vaccine will be administered to the president, stressing that all three Russian shots are perfectly reliable and effective," Peskov reiterated.
He also explained why Putin will not get vaccinated publicly. "As for the vaccination under cameras, he [Putin] doesn’t like it," the spokesman pointed out.
The Kremlin hopes that as many Russians as possible will decide to get vaccinated against COVID-19, given the growing pace of the production of coronavirus vaccines.
When asked whether the head of state’s vaccination could be a "motivating factor" for those Russians who are still undecided on the issue, the Kremlin spokesman said he hoped that such citizens would "hear [about that] and, given the growing pace of vaccine production, make a decision on vaccination."
"As a matter of fact, this is an important issue," Peskov noted. "We do expect as many people as possible to make a voluntary decision on vaccination."
Peskov earlier said that Russians’ "perception of the vaccine was "at a good level," and many people were willing to be inoculated against COVID-19. He also noted that it was impossible to use the carrot-and-stick principle in such matters, since people had to understand that vaccination was necessary for their health. According to the Kremlin spokesman, the media plays a significant role in prompting more people to get vaccinated.
Putin said at a meeting on coronavirus vaccination on Monday that he intended to get inoculated on March 23 but did not specify the vaccine that he would receive.
Putin announced plans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus at his annual news conference on December 17. He explained that he carefully listened to expert recommendations about age restrictions for COVID-19 vaccines. The presidential spokesman told reporters later that Putin also received other vaccines and doctors did not recommend that all vaccines be taken at the same time. Peskov said "no" when asked by TASS if the president would get vaccinated publicly.