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Putin hopes Russia will achieve herd immunity against COVID-19

As of June 23, as many as 23 mln people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Russia, and 16.7 mln people have had both doses

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that Russia will reach herd immunity against COVID-19 to enable all fields to resume normal work, he said during his annual Q&A session known as the Direct Line.

"I hope in the end we will still achieve such herd immunity, which we are speaking about, including thanks to active vaccination process, and schools, higher education institutions, small and medium-sized businesses and our large companies will work as normal," Putin said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova earlier said as of June 23, as many as 23 mln people had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Russia, and 16.7 mln people had had both doses.

More than 5.5 mln Russians have contracted COVID-19. For achieving herd immunity in the country, there is the need to vaccinate 60% of Russians or nearly 69 mln people. Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov voiced an opinion that Russia would not be able to reach herd immunity by this autumn.

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Direct Line with Vladimir Putin

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