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Putin gets second dose of coronavirus vaccine

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President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had received the second dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus and encouraged Russians to follow his example.

"I want to inform you that right now, before entering this room, I also received the second vaccination," he said during a televised meeting.

"I assume that you, taking care of yourself and your loved ones, will do the same and follow my example," he added.

The 68-year-old received his first dose on 23 March in private, declining to say which of Russia's three vaccines - Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona or CoviVac - he had been administered.

In late March he called on Russians to get inoculated against the coronavirus, saying the country would be able to end all measures to limit the spread of the virus when around 70 percent of adults had been vaccinated.

He predicted that would happen by the end of the summer.

At the time he said that some 6.3 million of the country's 144 million people had received a first dose of a vaccine.

Despite beginning its vaccination campaign in early December ahead of most countries, Russia has struggled to inoculate its citizens.

As of Wednesday, health officials had reported more than 4.6 million infections and 104 000 fatalities from the virus.


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