Russia Becomes First Country to Develop COVID-19 Vaccine

In a big and much-awaited development, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that Russia has become the first country to develop a vaccine offering "sustainable immunity" against the virus that causes COVID-19, an AFP report said.

The report quoted Putin as saying in a virtual meeting with government ministers, "This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered."

The President added, "One of my daughters had this vaccine. I think in this sense she took part in the experiment."

The report also quoted the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev as saying that the vaccine has been named "Sputnik V" after the Soviet satellite. The sovereign wealth fund named the Russian Direct Investment Fund is financing the country's vaccine project.

Dmitriev reportedly added that Phase 3 trials would start on Wednesday and that 20 countries had "pre-ordered more than a billion doses".