On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is hoping for quick approval of the nation’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to ABC News.
During a video call with Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Putin said, “The WHO’s vetting is necessary to spread the Russian vaccine more broadly around the world, including free supplies.”
He said the move is essential to expand the vaccine’s global supplies. He said, “We intend to expand such assistance.”
Putin also argued that the approval should open the door for Russians and others who have taken the Sputnik V COVID vaccine to travel more freely around the world. He said around 200 million people worldwide have received the vaccine.
The Russian leader was vaccinated with Sputnik V in the spring. Last month, he received a booster shot of Sputnik Light.
Putin also said he has taken an investigational nasal version of Sputnik V days after receiving the booster dose, adding that he had not experienced any side effects.
The Gamaleya Institute, the manufacturer of Sputnik V, said the vaccine should be efficient against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. However, it announced that it would immediately start working on adapting the vaccine to counter the new strain.
Russia launched and authorized the Sputnik V COVID vaccine in August 2020. Since then, the nation has been supplying its vaccine across the globe, but uptake has been slow.
In recent months, Russia has faced its deadliest and largest surge of COVID cases, with infections and deaths climbing to all-time highs and only slowing in the last few weeks, according to ABC News. Despite that surge, Putin has repeatedly argued that vaccinations should remain voluntary.
On Sunday, he emphasized that Russian officials have been trying to use “persuasion and not pressure” and worked to dispel “prejudices and myths driving the aversion to vaccination.”
A study published in February in The Lancet showed that Sputnik V is more than 90% effective, preventing vaccinated individuals from becoming severely ill with COVID.
Although Russia actively promoted Sputnik V across the world, it faced issues in shipping the number of doses it promised. For instance, nations in Latin America have raised concerns over delays in getting the second dose of Sputnik V. Meanwhile, the WHO has been reviewing data about the Sputnik V vaccine as part of the approval process.
