DAILY MAIL Putin refused to be vaccinated with Sputnik V?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin (68) refused to be vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 infection this winter, the Daily Mail reported.

Allegedly, his closest associates asked Putin to get vaccinated publicly, in order to encourage people to mass immunization.

However, he told reporters in an informal conversation that he did not want to be mocked in front of the cameras, the London-based newspaper reported, citing colleagues from Moscow's Kommersant.

Kommersant reported that the Russian president plans to get vaccinated only at the end of summer or the beginning of autumn, without further explaining this decision.

In the West, Putin was harshly criticized last year when he publicly characterized Sputnik V as safe for use in August last year, even though the vaccine had not yet received official approval for use.

Based on the latest studies, the Sputnik V vaccine has shown an efficacy of 92 percent.