Covid Infections in Russian Now Increasing by Double Digits Weekly as Vaccination Rates Stall

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 4 – New cases of infection are now increasing week over week by 14 percent, a significant rise over the last month, with a majority of regions seeing increases. In Moscow, the number this week is up 30 percent over last (regnum.ru/news/3388623.html, regnum.ru/news/3388639.html and regnum.ru/news/3388652.html).

            But at the same time, vaccination rates have stalled even though officials say that is the only way to defeat the pandemic and that of those vaccinated, only two percent ever get infected with the coronavirus let alone end up in hospital (government.ru/news/43414/ and  nakanune.ru/news/2021/10/4/22623319/).

            The massive increases in infections are putting a serious strain on the country’s medical system with 950,000 Russians now receiving medical care (regnum.ru/news/3388630.html), leading to more demands for compulsory vaccinations over additional categories of the population (regnum.ru/news/3388828.html and regnum.ru/news/3388781.html).

            Today, Russian officials reported registering 25,781 new cases of infection and 883 new deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, as the pandemic trended upwards in most areas and especially in larger cities and the regions immediately adjoining them (t.me/COVID2019_official/3630 and regnum.ru/news/society/3387415.html).

            Mixed messages about restrictions continued to be the order of the day, with some officials say that there were no new restrictions on holding mass meetings, and others insisting that such restrictions were now in place in all the federal subjects of Russia (regnum.ru/news/3388662.html and regnum.ru/news/3388634.html).

            Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related developments in Russia today,

·         A United Russia Duma deputy called on the government to allow Russians to have access to foreign vaccines even if the medications have not been registered by Moscow (regnum.ru/news/3388563.html).

·         The health ministry said the Russian vaccines were proving just as effective on teenagers as they have been on adults (regnum.ru/news/3388413.html).

·         And while more than half of Russians have not been vaccinated at all, 1.8 million have now received revaccinations against the coronavirus (regnum.ru/news/3388702.html).