Would You Feel Safe Taking 'Putin's Vaccine' for COVID-19?

The announcement made yesterday by the Russian President Vladimir Putin of registering the first "effective" vaccine to protect from the novel Coronavirus was met with a lot of skepticism across social media worldwide, especially after scientists warned that the vaccine hasn't passed the third trial yet, raising red flags over its safety.

The announcement, that crowned Russia with the "first country to produce a COVID19 vaccine" title, cast a lot of doubts by individuals who wondered how a vaccine can be developed and tested this quickly; especially as most scientists have, for several months, stressed the need to test every vaccine experiment for at least 12-18 months to ensure full safety.

During the official announcement, Putin said: “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity [...] We must be grateful to those who made that first very important step for our country and the entire world.”

The hasty Russian announcement came under fire despite being backed by official statements highlighting that Putin's daughter has already received the vaccine, in an attempt to incorporate the claim with "reassuring" information.

However, a lot of online commentators voiced out their doubts, saying that "nothing proves the claim that the Russian President's daughter has actually received the vaccine," adding that they "prefer to wait for positive results of full experiments."

Some tweets also questioned 65-year old Putin's credibility saying that "he should have taken it himself rather than his young, probably healthier, daughter."According to ABC, Putin has ordered the production of 1 billion doses of the vaccine so it's sold worldwide. This, too, has stirred many debates over the quickly-produced vaccine being an attempt to make fast money for the country, especially as the world braces for another outbreak by the end of the summer in the northern hemisphere.

As soon as the Russian vaccine was announced yesterday, Albawaba News shared a poll on Twitter to examine readers' perception and whether or not they are willing to give it a try. So far 69% said they don't feel safe taking the vaccine, while 31% said the would.