Paul Goble
Staunton, February 4 – Mikhail Gorbachev has added his voice to those Russians who believe that the developers of the Russian coronavirus vaccine should be awarded the Nobel Prize (vz.ru/society/2021/2/4/1083502.html and dailystorm.ru/news/gorbachev-podderzhal-vydvizhenie-sozdateley-sputnika-v-na-nobelevskuyu-premiyu).
But despite that and despite confirmation of the safety and effectiveness of the Russian vaccine in The Lancet, a British medical journal, Vladimir Putin still hasn’t gotten the shots, a failure that some commentators suggest may keep others from doing so and may cost Russia money from lower says abroad (svpressa.ru/health/article/288988/).
Today, Russian officials registered 16,714 new cases of infection and 521 new deaths from the coronavirus (novayagazeta.ru/news/2021/02/04/167599-covid). But yet another source of error in them was also reported. In some places, doctors who have died from the virus are being listed as dying from other causes (7x7-journal.ru/articles/2021/02/04/chto-proishodit-s-vrachami-kogda-oni-zarazhayutsya-koronavirusom).
The pandemic is easing in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, but it continues in many other places, where schools are closed down and debates are flaring about how negative an impact that has had on children outside of the capitals (regnum.ru/news/society/3176513.html, regnum.ru/news/society/3182472.html and regnum.ru/news/society/3178519.html).
Reports about the number of infections in the Russian armed services have been scanty, but today, the defense ministry reported that “more than 2500” carriers of the coronavirus had been identified in the ranks (regnum.ru/news/3182757.html). Russia as a whole is now doing 300,000 tests a day (regnum.ru/news/3182505.html).
On the vaccine front, Moscow reported 400,000 residents have received their first dose of the vaccine and that this protection combined with that from immunity caused by infections means that there is no need to launch a new push for vaccinations (regnum.ru/news/3182649.html and rbc.ru/society/04/02/2021/601c16599a79472ab8b44688?from=from_main_8).
Russian researchers are continuing to work on new vaccines, as experts say that annual shots may be necessary (regnum.ru/news/3182543.html and regnum.ru/news/3182518.html). Superjob reports that 62 percent of employers are requiring their employees to wear masks (regnum.ru/news/3181979.html).
In Yekaterinburg, the government’s vaccination registration system has collapsed (ura.news/news/1052470028), but officials say vaccination is continuing to expand that that Russia may have collective immunity by July of this year (ura.news/news/1052470312).
On the economic front, Rosstat reported that the Russian economy fell in 2020 by less than projected, about 3.1 percent (regnum.ru/news/3182046.html and echo.msk.ru/blog/serpompo2018/2784524-echo/). But the standard of living for Russians fell back to 2010 levels (ng.ru/economics/2021-02-04/4_8075_economics1.html). Unemployment is also surging with some regions experiencing rises of up to 1000 percent (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/83509).
Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related developments in Russia today,
· Moscow and Tehran are in discussions about the possibility that Iran will produce the Russian vaccine under license (regnum.ru/news/3182391.html).
· The makers of Sputnik-5 have told Muslim leaders that the components of the medication meet halal standards (kommersant.ru/doc/4673654).
· Some Russian medical experts say that people being treated aggressively for cancer should not receive the coronavirus vaccine now (realtribune.ru/news/people/5838).
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