Two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country had developed the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine, a new government poll has revealed that just 23 percent of the nation wants to be inoculated.
The research, conducted by the ruling party United Russia, revealed that more than 73 percent of respondents do not want to be vaccinated against coronavirus. Another four percent said they don’t need it, as they’ve already had the disease.
The hesitance of Russians to be injected is mainly linked to the lack of proof that any vaccine works, with two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) saying that effectiveness is the most important quality. The vast majority of Russians questioned don’t mind which country created it, with just a quarter (24 percent) preferring to receive a homegrown shot, and 13 percent wanting one made abroad.
When questioned about the possibility of making inoculation against coronavirus mandatory, just seven percent agreed, with the rest believing it should be voluntary.
The research also revealed that 11 percent of Russians don’t believe the virus exists at all.
Last week, senior Russian virologist Fyodor Lisitsyn announced that the country’s homegrown Sputnik V vaccine may begin its roll out at the end of October. It is currently in the final trial stage, consisting of 40,000 volunteers.
On August 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country had registered the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been criticized by some Western countries for its supposed unsafe rapid development and improper testing. However, at the start of September, respected British medical journal The Lancet published a study prepared by the developers of Sputnik V, showing it to be 100 percent effective, producing antibodies in all 76 participants of early-stage trials.
