Large-scale Covid-19 vaccination campaign kicks off in Moscow
A large-scale vaccination campaign began in Moscow on Saturday, with thousands signing up for shots online. Frontline workers were given priority.
People have to sign up online before receiving the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine at one of the city’s 70 clinics. The vaccine consists of two separate injections, the second dose must be administered 21 days after the first one. The whole procedure, which includes the time needed to cool down the drug after it’s removed from the freezer, takes less than an hour, officials said.
Injections are administered to people aged between 18 and 60 that have no chronic health conditions. Those who had respiratory infections, like flu or common cold, less than two weeks ago, are not allowed to get vaccinated. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are also exempt.
On Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin wrote on his blog that 5,000 people had signed up for the vaccine in five hours after online registration was launched. He said they were doctors, care workers, and teachers, who were “risking with their health and lives the most.”
Vaccination is free for Russian citizens. Senior health official Alexey Kuznetsov announced that Sputnik V’s maximum commercial price will be 1,942 rubles ($26) for both injections.
President Vladimir Putin authorized the start of a large-scale vaccination campaign on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said all of Russia’s regions would roll out their campaigns next week. Meanwhile, select groups of doctors and nurses had already been getting the vaccine, with the priority given to those on the frontline against Covid-19. The vaccination began in some army units as well.
Sputnik V was created by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute. Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which funded the development of the drug, told the BBC on Friday the plan is to vaccinate two million people in December. He added that he expected foreign regulators to approve Sputnik V in December and January.
Another Russian-made vaccine, EpiVacCorona, will be available for wider circulation on December 10, according to its developer, the Siberian-based Vector Institute.
Half the world could get Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, say creators, as Moscow starts distributing doses en masse
At least 40 countries, representing more than half of the world’s population, have expressed interest in Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, the team behind it have said as mass vaccination begins in Moscow.
At a presentation to the United Nations on Thursday, scientists from the Gamaleya Institute, which developed the formula, said that preliminary orders have been placed for more than 1.2 billion doses. Trials involving 45,000 people across the globe have concluded that 95 percent of those given both doses of Sputnik V develop immunity to the virus.
On Wednesday, the vaccine’s creators released footage of vials touching down in India ahead of the start of studies into its efficacy there. A number of countries, including Hungary, Venezuela and the UAE, have already imported sufficient quantities to conduct their own tests. At the same time, the Philippines announced that it would work with Russia to secure access to supplies in order to begin mass immunizations early next year.
On Thursday, Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin announced that residents of the capital would be able to access the vaccine from Saturday. Doctors, teachers and social workers will be first in line for appointments, and an “electronic immunization record” will be set up. According to Sobyanin, Muscovites will be able to get the jab at ‘vaccine points’ set up around the city.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the program on Wednesday, adding that “the production of Sputnik V, the world’s first registered vaccine against the coronavirus infection, is what allows us to begin the vaccination.”
Source:rt.com
