Russia begins to vaccinate against the crown: “Proud of our country”

– Relief. That was the first thing I felt when I heard that we finally have a corona vaccine. Finally I let go of the fear of dying, I stopped exposing medical personnel to danger. This spring we had to send people to work, although we knew that the risks were great, that in some cases we sent people to their deaths.

The chief physician, Maria Sokolova, of Poliklinik No. 191 in northeast Moscow, is serious. Then smile under the mouth guard.

– I am proud that Russia is at the forefront when it comes to the corona vaccine. And we are ready to help other countries!

Russia started vaccination crowns Saturday, so far only in Moscow. 70 clinics in the city vaccinate people from risk groups with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine. President Vladimir Putin has noted that his own daughter volunteered as a test person for the vaccine. However, Putin himself has so far refrained from being vaccinated and he is not the only one.

When vaccinations began, it was intended that only risk groups would participate: care personnel, teachers and social workers. But according to the Russian BBC, the clinics also accept people outside the risk group. The reason is probably that otherwise very few will get vaccinated.

Many in the Russian health personnel they refuse to be vaccinated because they do not trust Sputnik V. The vaccine has been developed at a very rapid rate and has not been tested as extensively as the other international vaccines.

– I’m not afraid. I think that in Russia we have the best vaccine. It is not just anyone who has developed it, but very competent and resourceful research institutes, says nurse Jelena Arajeva. She is one of the first to be vaccinated this Wednesday morning at outpatient clinic number 191.

The N. Gamalei National Research Institute has developed Sputnik V. The vaccine has been tested in 16,000 people and, according to the researchers, its effectiveness is 95 percent. For comparison, the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer tested its vaccine on 30,000 people.

Chief Physician Maria Sokolova It begs the question of how safe the Russian vaccine is, given that it has been less extensively tested than other international vaccines.

– What international vaccines? As far as I know, only we have started vaccinating. There is nothing to compare with.

The UK started vaccinating on December 8. Russia had a three-day window, which is not a coincidence. It is a matter of prestige for the Kremlin to be able to say that it is the first in the world.

A problem In Russia there is growing skepticism about vaccines. The movement against vaccines is large and also includes doctors and healthcare professionals.

– I have not noticed such a problem. I run a large outpatient clinic, a total of 230,000 inhabitants are registered with us. The most common question people ask us is: When should I start getting vaccinated? Of course, people ask if the vaccine is safe, you always do it when you are going to be injected. But for them, it is even more important to get immunity and avoid worrying about what might happen if they become infected with corona, says Maria Sokolova.

All the patients that DN talks to have received an SMS in advance offering them the voluntary opportunity to get vaccinated. They have registered online and have been given a time to report to the outpatient clinic. There they undergo a ten-minute medical examination. If all goes well, they will get their injection.

– We make sure that patients come at different times so that there are no people where the virus can spread. We only vaccinate people between the ages of 18 and 60 who do not have any chronic disease. Pregnant and lactating women are excluded, says chief physician Maria Sokolova.

Despite these efforts In any case, a crowd arises, due to the media coverage. The city of Moscow has invited a dozen Russian and international media to attend the vaccination at this clinic. Russia wants to convey the message that it is ahead of the rest of the world in creating immunity to the crown.

– It is clear that I am proud to live in a country that can handle this. We kept waiting for a vaccine to arrive soon. How else are we going to live? says nurse Jelena Arajeva after receiving her first dose.

– I am sure that many ordinary citizens go and get vaccinated as quickly as they can. They don’t want to get sick either, he says.

Sputnik V consists of two doses, administered at 21 day intervals. Russian pharmaceutical companies have had problems with the production of the second dose, which means that there are currently only 500,000 doses of vaccines in stock in Russia, according to Meduza sources. Therefore, it is not about mass vaccinations: Russia has 144 million inhabitants.

Chief physician Maria Sokolova says she has never heard of missing dose number two.

– I have no information on that. We are ready to receive all patients. Our staff is already vaccinated.

Coronasituationen in Russia right now it is very serious. Russia ranks fourth worldwide in the number of infected and the curve is rising. Moscow, St. Petersburg and the surroundings of Moscow are the most affected.

According to Aleksandr Belov, governor of Saint Petersburg, the city is currently very close to a total closure. The current measures, which were introduced only in November after the infection started to rise again, appear to have come too late. In both Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is a mouth guard on public transport. In Moscow, restaurants and bars must end with table service by 11 pm

In St. Petersburg, which now threatens to become proportionally the largest source of infection in Russia, the rules are even stricter. Restaurants and bars must close at 7:00 p.m. Between December 30 and January 3, they cannot stay open at all. This has spawned a new movement in Russia, misleadingly called “complicit opposition.” To Komsomolskaya Pravda, a restaurant owner tells him openly and in his own name that he and many others reopen after 11pm, when the police have completed their check. One hundred restaurant owners in St. Petersburg have publicly announced that they refuse to be closed during the New Year.

In the Russian regions, they have struggled all fall with very few spots of attention. Many patients have been allowed to lie down in the hallway or be placed in poor spaces. There are many indications that even large cities, which have more resources than regions, may have big problems with the number of hospital places.

The need for vaccines In other words, it is huge in Russia right now. But in practice, it will take several months before the vaccine can begin to be distributed to the entire population.

– I’m tired of having it as it is now. That is why now I have been vaccinated. After me comes the next. And then the world will be healthy! In any case, I hope so, says ophthalmologist Jekaterina Skudina after receiving her dose of vaccine at the Moscow clinic.

– Simply sitting at home is not possible. Now they have found a way out. I am proud to be among the first to get vaccinated.