MOSCOW, December 17./TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the scientists may develop a ‘light version’ of the coronavirus vaccine, whose effective duration will be shorter, but it will give a possibility to inoculate many more people.

"We have an option to create a ‘light vaccine’ of the Gamaleya [Research Institute]. Giving just one inoculation. It will be effective for a shorter period of time, the level of protection will be lower, but still [the efficiency] will be up to 85%," Putin said.

"However, it will be possible to inoculate tens of millions [of people] at once. This is also an option," Putin told journalists after his annual news conference.

According to the president, this vaccine can be developed by Russian scientists independently, or in teamwork with partners. "There are many options here. Nobody can give a direct answer as to when this all will end. Some producers of the vaccine have said openly that their work is not much of a success, they face failures. I don’t see anything awful about it. I don’t believe that we must start pointing the finger of scorn at them, or deride. No, this is not the way we work," the president summed up.

On August 11, Russia became the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine, which was named Sputnik V. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. The preparation’s post-registration trials began in Moscow on September 7 and volunteers received the first vaccine on September 9. Overall, the trials involve 40,000 people and 10,000 of them received a placebo.