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 Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin also said Russia
needed to step up production of its Sputnik V vaccine and that some
of its components could be made abroad.
Russia rolled out the Sputnik V jab to medics and other frontline
workers in Moscow this month, and more than 200,000 people across
the country have already been vaccinated.
"As for the need for mass or universal vaccination, I think this
should be done... This is exactly what should create immunity in the
population nationwide," Putin said.
The Russian leader has gone to great lengths not to contract the
novel coronavirus, running the world's largest country mainly from
his residence outside Moscow rather than working from the Kremlin.
But he said citizens in other age groups were receiving the
Russian-made vaccine before he could have access to it.
"I am a fairly law-abiding person," said Putin, 68, when asked if he
had been inoculated against COVID-19. "I listen to the
recommendations of our specialists. So I haven't had the shot yet.
But I will absolutely do it as soon as that becomes possible."
He added: "Our vaccine is effective and safe, so I see no reason not
to be vaccinated."
Putin said he was confident that a plan for British drugmaker
AstraZeneca to test a combination of its vaccine with Russia's
Sputnik V would yield results.
"Our foreign colleagues, thank God, have also turned to face us and
are ready for cooperation in an area where something isn't working
out for them," he said.
[to top of second column] |
 He said Russia needed to focus
on stepping up production capacity by building
factories, equipment and companies.
"Nothing is stopping us producing the components of the vaccine
themselves at facilities in foreign states," he added.
The marathon annual news conference, expected to last up to four
hours, was dominated by questions about the pandemic from
journalists and citizens in studios across Russia. Two hours in,
with Putin still in full flow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged
participants to change their masks.
Peskov said in June that the Russian leader was protected from the
coronavirus by special disinfection tunnels that anyone visiting his
residence or meeting him in the Kremlin must pass through.
Putin is regularly tested for the virus, Peskov has said.
Russia has recorded more than 2.7 million infections and 49,000
deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Data published this week found the Sputnik V vaccine, which Russian
regulators approved in August after less than two months of human
testing, to be 91.4% effective.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Andrew Osborn and Anastasia
Lyrchikova; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Tom Balmforth;
Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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