Anti-Vaxxers Greater Threat to Russia than Extremists, Senator Krugly Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 5 – People promoting anti-vaccination messages in Russia are more dangerous than any extremists, according to Vladimir Krugly, a doctor who is a member of the Federation Council, says. They must be fought with as much effort as extremism is (capost.media/views/antiprivivochnye-resursy-dlya-rossii-segodnya-opasnee-ekstremistskikh/).

            Russian officials reported they have registered 23,120 new infections and 794 new deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, that 900,000 Russians are now under medical supervision and that 39 million Russians have been vaccinated (t.me/stopcoronavirusrussia/5492, regnum.ru/news/3338209.html and regnum.ru/news/3338208.html).

            As the pandemic continues, the Russian authorities are experiencing increasing problems with messaging. On a wide variety  of issues involving the coronavirus, some officials are saying one thing and others another, leaving the population uncertain (regnum.ru/news/3338368.html, regnum.ru/news/3337965.html and regnum.ru/news/3337737.html).

            The epidemiological situation is improving in some places and worsening in others, with restrictions being lifted or imposed in a patchwork quilt way. Among the most significant developments today are the following:

·         Vladimir Putin ordered additional spending on medications to treat the infection (regnum.ru/news/3338155.html).

·         Moscow health officials dropped the requirement that medical personnel wear special protective gear while treating pandemic patients (regnum.ru/news/3338073.html).

·         Ever more complaints are coming in about the shortages of treatments that ambulances carry, shortages that often mean patients don’t make it alive to hospitals (sibreal.org/a/pochemu-patsienty-umirayut-v-ozhidanii-skoroy-pomoschi/31392013.html).

·         Private health care operations are making money but doing little to address the amount of disease, leaving that expensive task to the state (ng.ru/economics/2021-08-05/4_8218_economics.html).

·         Russia’s Muslims have asked the Saudis to permit some of their number who have been vaccinated to make the haj to Mecca (doshdu.com/rossijskie-musulmane-poprosili-sauditov-provesti-malyj-hadzh-posle-vakcinirovanija/).

·         Ever more people who moved from cities to the countryside have decided to remain there (7x7-journal.ru/articles/2021/08/05/glavred-sajta-moya-planeta-s-nachala-pandemii-rabotaet-iz-derevni-i-ne-sobiraetsya-obratno).