President Putin says Covid-19 herd immunity stands in Russia at 59.4%

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized vaccine skeptics on Thursday, saying that herd immunity to COVID-19 in the country was slightly under 60%, saying that it was "low" and that Russians needed at least an 80% herd immunity to be safe from the virus.

"The rate is low -- 59.4% as of yesterday evening... It's Russia's herd immunity, which includes those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated," he told the end-of-year press conference.

Some 70 million have been injected with the first dose of the two-shot vaccine and another 70 million have been fully immunized, the president estimated, citing the health ministry's figures.

"We need a herd immunity of some 80%. I hope we will get there by the end of the first quarter or in the second quarter," Putin told reporters.