Putin said the second Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the Vector Science Center, will be registered in Russia in September and compete with the Sputnik V vaccine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Rossiya 24 today that the country's second Covid-19 vaccine is ready next month.

The Russian President added that the new vaccine is expected to compete with Sputnik V, the first Covid-19 vaccine registered by Russia earlier this month, and that he hopes both are equally safe and effective.

When asked about her daughter, who tested for Sputnik V, Putin confirmed she was healthy and that her body had successfully developed immunity to Covid-19.

Putin denied the allegation that the Sputnik V vaccine was licensed without full testing.

He also praised the way Russian officials handled the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasizing that their timely and decisive moves not only kept mortality to a minimum, but also limited the impact of the epidemic.

Sputnik V, developed by the Gameleya Institute, is the first vaccine in the world to be approved and put into production by the government, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that has prompted many countries to mobilize unprecedented research funding and efforts.

Russia, the US and China are leading countries in the "race" to produce the first Covid-19 vaccine.