Russia records low vaccine take up despite incentive

While shopping at the Park House mall in northern Moscow, Vladimir Makarov saw it was offering the coronavirus vaccine to customers and asked how long it would take.

"It turned out it's simple here -10 minutes," he said of his experience last month.

But Makarov, like many Muscovites, still decided to put off getting the Sputnik V shot.

Russia boasted last year of being first in the world to authorize a coronavirus vaccine, but it now finds itself lagging behind in getting its population immunized.

That has cast doubt on whether authorities will reach their ambitious goal of vaccinating more than 30 million of the country's 146 million people by mid-June and nearly 69 million by August.

The vaccine reluctance comes as shots are readily available in the capital to anyone 18 or older at more than 200 state and private clinics, shopping malls, food courts, hospitals, even a theater.

As of mid-April, over 1 million of Moscow's 12.7 million residents, or about 8%, have received at least one shot, even though the campaign began in December.

That percentage is similar for Russia as a whole.

Through 27 April, only 12.1 million people have received at least one shot and only 7.7 million, or 5%, have been fully vaccinated.

That puts Russia far behind the U.S., where 43% have received at least one shot, and the European Union with nearly 27%.

Data analyst Alexander Dragan, who tracks vaccinations across Russia, said last week the country was giving shots to 200,000-205,000 people a day.

In order to hit the mid-June target, it needs to be nearly double that.

To boost demand, Moscow officials have begun offering digital coupons worth 1,000 rubles ($13) to those over 60 who get vaccinated — not a small sum for those receiving monthly pensions of about 20,000 rubles ($260).

But it hasn't generated much enthusiasm.

Some elderly Muscovites told the Associated Press it was difficult to register online for the coupons, or find grocery stores that accepted them.

Other regions also are offering incentives.

Authorities in Chukotka, across the Bering Strait from Alaska, promised seniors 2,000 rubles to be vaccinated, while the neighboring Magadan region offered 1,000 rubles.

A theater in St. Petersburg offered discounted tickets for those presenting a vaccination certificate.

Russia's lagging vaccination rates hinge on several factors, including supply.

Russian drug makers have been slow to ramp up mass production, and there were shortages in March in many regions.

So far, only 28 million two-dose sets of all three vaccines available in Russia have been produced, with Sputnik V accounting for most of them, and only 17.4 million have been released into circulation after undergoing quality control.

Waiting lists for the shot remain long in places.

In the Sverdlovsk region, the fifth most-populous in Russia, 178,000 people were on a waiting list by mid-April, regional Deputy Health Minister Yekaterina Yutyaeva told the Associated Press.

On 28 April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were enough vaccines available in Russia, adding that demand was the defining factor in the country's vaccination rate.

Another factor in Russians' reluctance over Sputnik V was the fact that it was rolled out even as large-scale testing to ensure its safety and efficacy was still ongoing.

But a study, published in February in the British medical journal The Lancet, said the vaccine appeared safe and highly effective against COVID-19, according to a trial involving about 20,000 people in Russia.

A poll in February by Russia's top independent pollster, the Levada Center, showed that only 30% of respondents were willing to get Sputnik V, one of three domestically produced vaccines available.

The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

Dragan, the data analyst, says one possible explanation for the reluctance is the narrative from authorities that they have tamed the outbreak, even if that might be premature.

With most virus restrictions lifted and government officials praising the Kremlin's pandemic response, few have motivation to get the shot, he said, citing the attitude of, "If the outbreak is over, why would I get vaccinated?"

Vasily Vlassov, a public health expert at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, echoed Dragan's sentiment, and also pointed to inconsistent signals from officials and media.

Another narrative, he said, was that foreign vaccines were dangerous but Russian-produced ones were not.

State TV reported adverse reactions linked to Western vaccines while celebrating Sputnik V's international success.

A proper media campaign promoting vaccinations didn't begin on state TV until late March, observers and news reports note.

Videos on the Channel 1 national network featured celebrities and other public figures talking about their experience but didn't show them getting injected.

President Vladimir Putin said he received the shot about the same time, but not on camera.

Vlassov also noted the outbreak in Russia is far from over, and there even are signs it is growing.

Government statistics say infections have stayed at about 8,000-9,000 per day nationwide, with 300-400 deaths recorded daily.

But new cases have been steadily increasing in Moscow in the past month, exceeding 3,000 last week for the first time since January.

Infection rates are growing in seven regions, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on 23 April, without identifying them.

She blamed "insufficient vaccination rates" in some places.

And yet, the abundance of vaccines in Moscow has attracted foreigners who can't get the shot at home.

A group of Germans got their first jab at their hotel last month.

Uwe Keim, a 46-year-old software developer from Stuttgart, told AP he believes "there are more vaccinations available here in Russia than is demanded by the people here."

(Image Credit: AP)