Russian vaccines are sufficiently effective against the new coronavirus strains, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured reporters on Thursday.
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"Our vaccines are effective enough even against the strains that have emerged recently," he pointed out.
The Kremlin spokesman added that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to the city of Kemerovo had taken place in strict accordance with the current sanitary guidelines.
"These requirements are still relevant given the coronavirus situation. The president’s future activities will also be tailored to meet the requirements of the sanitary authorities. The president’s safety is vital," Peskov stressed. According to him, the head of state will continue to heed all the necessary precautions when visiting Russia’s regions.
Russia advocates dialogue with other countries on recognition of Coronavirus vaccines and vaccination certificates because any "COVID discrimination" due to differences in papers is unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Thursday.
"As for the mutual recognition [of COVID vaccines] and [vaccination] certificates — this is something that must be discussed, of course," the spokesman said. He noted that "any kind of COVID discrimination due to differences in documents" would be "unacceptable for any democratic society."
Peskov called the remark made by EU envoy to Russia Markus Ederer regarding the Union’s address to the Russian Ministry of Health for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates a good sign.
"A readiness for dialogue is always good, this is something that we hold in high regard," TASS cited him as saying.
The spokesman said he is unaware whether Russia will only recognize foreign vaccines after the recognition of its own ones. "The recognition of a vaccine happens under a certain algorithm of actions in each country. I cannot tell, I simply don’t know which algorithm is in effect in our country," he explained.
He recommended addressing this question to the COVID prevention anti-crisis center. "Of course, we always speak against politicization in this field, against lobbying and unfair competition," the spokesman said. ■