Enlarge / The unproven vaccine candidate has been dubbed "Sputnik V" (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images) Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia is the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine—dubbed “Sputnik V.” Putin claimed that one of his own daughters has already received a dose of the vaccine, according to reports from Moscow—though he didn’t note which daughter.