Russia needs to accelerate COVID vaccination process, President Vladimir Putin admits

In view of the rising COVID cases and increasing fatality rate in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has urged the newly elected lawmakers of State Duma to accelerate COVID vaccinations. Putin urged the members of the lower parliament house to convince more people to get vaccinated, citing the current situation in the country. While addressing the lawmakers, Putin also emphasized the need for vaccination and highlighted the contributions of medical specialists.

According to a report published by CNN, Putin said,

"You know that the number of infections is growing in many regions, and medical specialists are working in difficult conditions. We all know well that vaccination can save us from the virus and from a severe course of the disease. It is necessary to step up the vaccination pace". 

While addressing the newly elected lawmakers of the State Duma, Putin said, 

"I would like to ask you to be most active in this work, to educate people and speak in the media. People trust and listen to your advice and recommendations. It is very important to do this without a tone of administrative reprimand. We should persistently and patiently work with the people and explain to them the benefits of preventing this dangerous disease," reported CNN.

Vladimir Putin says Russia needs to speed up COVID vaccination process

Putin's announcement came right after Russia recorded 984 deaths in the last 24 hours, which is the highest number since the pandemic started. It is pertinent to mention here that Russia has reported more than 900 deaths for seven days in a row, taking the total number of deaths to 2,18,345.

Despite being the first country to bring COVID vaccines onto the market, Russia has lagged behind other countries in administering the COVID vaccine. 

Recently, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who is an active member of the COVID response team, said in a government meeting that a total of 47.8 million Russians have been inoculated with the first dose of COVID vaccines, while 42.4 million people have received both doses of the COVID vaccine.

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by independent pollster Levada-Center revealed that Russia is home to 146 million people and has a population of 52% who are not at all ready to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Notably, the Russian government has restricted the usage of any foreign COVID vaccines.

COVID situation in Russia

Russia is witnessing a steep surge in COVID cases, while the vaccination rate is still low in the country. In the last 24 hours, the country reported a total of 28,717 new COVID cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 7,861,681. The country reported 984 new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 2,18,345, which is the highest in Europe.

Image: AP