Two-Thirds of Russians No Longer Fear Getting Infected with Coronavirus, Levada Center Reports

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 21 – According to a new Levada Center survey, 66 percent of Russians no longer fear getting infected with the coronavirus, although 32 percent still do. Nearly half the population has now been vaccinated at least once, and many have been revaccinated or gotten booster shots.

            At the same time, concern among Russians about the spread of the pandemic remains high; and 45 percent of all Russians tell the Center’s pollsters that they limit their physical contacts with others lest they become infected (levada.ru/2022/03/21/koronavirus-i-lichnye-kontakty/).

            The share of Russians who don’t fear getting infected is the highest since February 2020, and the share who have received the shots continues to rise, although at a slower rate than before Putin’s war in Ukraine began and distracted the attention Russian media and ordinary Russians give to the pandemic which continues, albeit at a slower rate.