Putin calls for faster vaccination as Russian COVID toll hits new daily record

Putin calls for faster vaccination as Russian COVID toll hits new daily record Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia needed to speed up its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 as the country recorded its highest single-day death toll since the start of the pandemic. Reuters Reuters

MOSCOW, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia needed to speed up its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 as the country recorded its highest single-day death toll since the start of the pandemic.

Speaking to newly elected lawmakers, Putin urged them to actively support efforts to have more of the population vaccinated.

"Vaccination safeguards people from infection, from serious symptoms," Putin told lawmakers. "We need to increase its pace."

The Kremlin has blamed the rising case numbers on insufficient numbers of people getting inoculated. Russia was fast to develop and launch its Sputnik vaccine when the pandemic struck last year, but take-up has been slow, with many Russians citing distrust of the authorities and fear of new medical products. ...