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The Norwegian travel agency World Visitor offers a 2-4 day trip to Moscow to see the famous sights of the capital and get vaccinated with the Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus. Such a trip costs between 1.2 and 3,000. euros.
Some citizens of Germany, where there is growing dissatisfaction with the slowness of vaccination, are already looking abroad.
The first German clients of the World Visitor agency are expected to arrive in Moscow on April 8 to receive the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine. Their second trip is planned in a few weeks.
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It is true that Russian officials have not officially allowed tourists to come vaccinated against the coronavirus. The country’s border is closed to many EU countries, including Germany.
“So far, there is no vaccination program for tourists in Russia,” Health Minister Mikhail Murashka said on March 22. He added that the vaccines are only for the Russian population.
Russia appears to be informally encouraging non-nationals to visit and get vaccinated against COVID-19. The All-Russian Popular Front, a coalition of political organizations founded and led by President Vladimir Putin, is actively involved in planning vaccination rounds.
This group wrote a letter that DW saw: it would help future vaccine tourists to obtain visas.
According to the document, the vaccination of “Russian and foreign citizens” is “at the initiative of the Central Clinical Hospital of the Administration Department of the President of the Russian Federation and the Federal Agency for Medical Biology.”
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The Popular Front of Russia supports trips organized by World Visitor for Russian citizens living in Germany.
The 40, who will come to Russia to get vaccinated next week, will only have to pay for the flights. It is unclear who will pay for your hotel stay, medical or transportation costs in Moscow, writes Deutsche Welle.
The organization’s coordinator, Valery Groyuchanov DW, confirmed that they are helping Russian citizens living in Germany to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Vaccines are not available in Germany, so our volunteers are ready to organize visits to Russian citizens in their home country to get vaccinated against the coronavirus,” Gorjuchanov said.
Gorjuchanov did not respond directly to DW’s questions about vaccination trips for foreigners. The Russian Ministry of Health was not responsible for the legal framework for foreign travel.
Doubts
Such trips, if tourists could arrive despite closed borders, could be a public relations victory for Russia.
Russia has started using the Sputnik V vaccine before the final phase of clinical trials. President Putin boasted that it has already been approved in 55 countries. In Russia itself, vaccination is slow, with only 4.4% vaccinated with at least one dose. populations.
The Sputnik V vaccine has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Lithuania does not intend to buy it even if it is approved: Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė called it a hybrid war weapon.
Albert Acronyms DW, one of the owners of the World Visitor, said that the first trips to Russia will be widely covered by the media. Travelers will be divided into two groups: the first will receive media attention, the second does not want publicity.
Elisabeth Straub, a 56-year-old lyricist from Berlin, plans to get vaccinated in Moscow next week.
“People shouldn’t think too politically during a pandemic. Instead, they should think about vaccinating everyone as soon as possible to control the pandemic,” he told DW.
Straub said he wanted to get vaccinated because he often worked in open-plan offices and was afraid of getting sick.
Manfred L. from Mainz has more doubts about the planned trip: He said he did not want to become a tool of power for the Putin administration. But the “dirty” policies between governments and pharmaceutical companies pushed him to choose a trip to Moscow.
“I don’t want to play this game anymore. Now that’s about me. So I’ll just say: I’ll be a pig and I’ll just do it. I’m afraid if I get COVID-19, it will be bad for me,” he said.
Manfred said he had received criticism from friends and family and that the names did not want to be released for fear of public condemnation.
According to A. Siglo, one of the World Visitor owners, so far 700 German citizens have registered for one of his trips to Russia. According to him, Russia’s partners have ensured that vaccine tourism will be possible.
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