As Russia faces a new outbreak of Covid-19 (particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg), Russian authorities are encouraging the population to get vaccinated with new measures and restrictions. It is in this context that the manufacturer Gamaleïa, at the origin of the Sputnik V vaccine, affirmed yesterday that the two injections of the serum protected against all the variants.
Russia faces surge in new infections
In recent days, the Russian capital (Moscow) and its region as well as the country’s second city (Saint Petersburg) have been facing an upsurge in the number of Covid-19 cases. Indeed, the two Russian cities reached contamination records on Monday, June 21, 2021. The city of Moscow thus recorded its largest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. According to the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, 90% of new cases are caused by the Delta variant (which appeared in India for the first time) which is said to be more contagious and which threatens to overwhelm hospitals in the capital.
Encourage the population to be vaccinated
While the Sputnik V vaccine has been available since last December, today only 13% of the Russian population is vaccinated against Covid-19 (according to the Gogov site, which aggregates data from regions and media lack of official national statistics). It is in this context that the Russian authorities recall the importance of vaccination in order to cope with this new epidemic outbreak. For his part, Alexandre Guintsbourg, director of the Gamaleïa center at the origin of the Sputnik V vaccine, affirmed this Monday, June 21, that the double injection ” protects against all currently known variants, starting with the British and up to the Delta variant, the Indian variant “.
Vaccination compulsory for certain workers
To cope with the situation, the government has put in place several measures and restrictions. Last week, the authorities in Moscow decreed that vaccination would be compulsory for all employees working in the service sector. The goal: to vaccinate the two million people concerned by August 15. In addition, Anton Kotiakov, the Russian Minister of Labor announced this Saturday, June 19, 2021, that employees who refuse to receive a vaccine against Covid-19, in regions where it is mandatory, may be placed on unpaid leave. He thus declared: ” If the health authorities in a region make vaccination compulsory for certain categories of workers, an unvaccinated employee may be suspended. “. A suspension which must last for the duration of the validity of the compulsory vaccination decree.
