Putin is vaccinated, but he does not want to be filmed
Russian President Vladimir Putin is being vaccinated against the coronavirus today, but it remains a secret which vaccine he gets. The Kremlin only wants to say that it is a drug that was developed in Russia.
Russia has now approved three homegrown vaccines. This includes Sputnik-V, which is also used in other countries. “We are deliberately not saying which vaccine the president will receive,” said a Kremlin spokesman, noting that “all three Russian vaccines are reliable and effective”.
Putin’s vaccination is a hotly debated topic in Russia. First, he doubted, then he stated that Sputnik was not released before his age – Putin is 68 years old. When the vaccine was approved for people over 60, it suddenly sounded that the injection did not fit into Putin’s ‘vaccination plan’. Yesterday he surprisingly announced that he would be vaccinated today.
Pictures say more than words
Putin, 68, is likely to be vaccinated tonight. Unlike many other heads of state, he does not want to be filmed during his planned vaccination against the coronavirus. “He doesn’t like it,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
Putin has never advocated public vaccinations and is already doing a great deal to “propagate” the Russian vaccine, it says.
Yet Putin’s reluctance arouses surprise because he usually does not shy away from posing bare-chested on horseback or at the doctor’s. Even the state media reacted disappointed, saying that pictures speak louder than words.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently had himself vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine under the eye of the camera.
Relatively few residents in Russia have been vaccinated. According to official figures, only 4.3 million people have received the necessary two injections. That’s about 3 percent of the population.
