Erdogan Unimpressed by Putin’s Antibodies as Leaders Talk Shots

Vladimir Putin broke two weeks of self-isolation to meet Recep Tayyip Erdogan in person Wednesday, but the Turkish leader seemed unimpressed with the Russian president’s immunity to Covid-19, and his offer of a locally made booster shot.

“It’s very low,” was Erdogan’s response after Putin reported his antibody level (“around 15 or 16”), according to video broadcast on Russian state TV. Putin was describing the outbreak among dozens of his staff earlier this month that led him to shift from in-person meetings to videoconferences.

“My antibody level, for example, is above 1,000,” Erdogan told him.

Vladimir Putin meets with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia on Sept. 29, 2021.

Photographer: Vladimir Smirnov/AFP/Getty Images

Putin brushed off the ...