International [Russian COVID/Vaccine News] Moscow Locked Down Again as Daily COVID Deaths Jumped To Highest Ever.

[ShinkanPo]

Even the Rooskies on getting in on the covid scam.

/sarc

Take your fucking vaccine folks - back in 1918 they would have given scientists billions to have one. Now in idiocracy we shun them.

Clearly they know Donal Drupmft will return in August they need the Scamdemic to make him look bad.

 

[Feniamin]

My Russian point of view.
Our government is extremely greedy, in latest years they often talk about new taxes or rising existing taxes for citizens. So for average Russian it's very suspicios, when now governemnt says -- here is a free vaccine for you! Either it's worthless piece of shit (and that's why it's free) or it is not gonna be free in the end.

Also people read news -- if I'm not mistaken, some time ago president of Argentina was vaccinated by Sputnik and then fell sick with COVID; mayor of Moscow Sobyanin recently said that he is getting vaccinated second time because one year has passed since he was vaccinated first time (he said that he was vaccinated in May or June, I forgot but people found out that in 2020 it was said that he vaccinated in August); also there were story that creators of vaccine or vaccines was saying that maybe immunity from vaccine will last at least 2 years or more -- now there is talks that people will need to inject vaccine multiple times in a year, creator of one vaccine (not Sputnik) if I remeber it right recently said in interview that after getting their vaccine you can be vaccinated with Sputnik and also that their vaccine is safe and it's safe to inject her every month.
Also I've seen article about controversies with vaccines -- you agree/sign papers to be vaccinated by one vaccine and they give you another, in one exmple woman signed papers for one vaccine, after vaccination they give her papers that she was vaccinated with another vaccine and on her phone arrived message that she was vaccinated with third (there was other examples, inculding people came to receive second injection of, let's say Sputnik and after injection medics says that they didn't had Sputnik so they injected him or her with another vaccine).
Also there were a post or two of famous blogger pioneer lj -- he took from open sourced news and articles about creator of Sputnik -- basically, in last 20 years they tried to make (create?) 4 vaccines and none of them was approved by WHO and also they had problem with a law in Russia (if I remember it right, they make a few millions of roubles disappear, don't remmeber it was money of government or some private investor).
And about Anna Popova and EpiVacCorona you can read in wikipedia. Popova is co-author of patent and also is the head of the Russian agency that is charged with overseeing vaccine safety and efficacy.

 

[Arkain2K]

My Russian point of view.

you agree/sign papers to be vaccinated by one vaccine and they give you another, in one exmple woman signed papers for one vaccine, after vaccination they give her papers that she was vaccinated with another vaccine and on her phone arrived message that she was vaccinated with third (there was other examples, inculding people came to receive second injection of, let's say Sputnik and after injection medics says that they didn't had Sputnik so they injected him or her with another vaccine).

This example alone shows most people in the WR have absolutely no idea how pampered they are.

 

[Oceanmachine]

This example alone shows most people in the WR have absolutely no idea how pampered they are.

Can you admit you were wrong and reply back to me?

 

[Arkain2K]

What's the percentage required for a solid grade of "B" in your school system?

What do you believe is Sputnik V's confirmed real-world efficacy against each of the new variants of concern, from Alpha to Delta?

For the record, it's widely known in the West that AZ gets a big fat "F" in South Africa, so your assertion is bullshit right off the gate, comrade.

In the late Lanclet I saw 92% effiency rate. I saw higher from Russian sources (which people say is biased)

When I google it over 90% is common for the Russian. At worst I saw a claim of 89% all of that is an "A"

Variants my dude.

B is still an excellent score.

No most sources say over 90% thus "A" rating

Can you admit you were wrong and reply back to me?

Wrong? We are still waiting for you to provide Sputnik V's real-world efficacy data to back up the claims you've repeatedly made throughout this forum over the past 6 months that it's better than mRNA vaccines from the West, comrade.

And when I said "real-world data on the variants", I don't mean your personal opinion or what the head of Russia's Gamaleya Institute hoping they could be, I mean the actual data collected and published by the health agencies in the countries where the vaccine is currently used that shows its effectiveness on each variant, then compare them to the real-world data (here , here and here) for the Pfizer vaccine that you despite so much.

Oh and just in case you have forgotten, the Lancet's peer-review of Sputnik V's damn good 91.6% efficacy in its phase 3 trial data against the original strain from Wuhan was provided in this very thread by the biased Westerners, when you were the one calling BS on vaccine clinical trials because they are biased against Mother Russia. <Lmaoo>

Remember this broken-English rant? I sure do:

Phase 3 is BS. How convinent the west vaccines are all good and have done phase 3 and yet any non western actors arent. Yes it just so happens every West vaccine does phase 3 in record time!!

Delusional to trust pfizer

 

[Arkain2K]

‘What We Did Before Just Isn’t Working’: Delta Variant Threatens to Overwhelm Russia
Russia has only vaccinated 13% of its population against Covid-19. With herd immunity a far-off prospect, it now faces the daunting challenge of fending off a highly infectious variant.
By Pjotr Sauer | June 25, 2021

Two weeks after 82-year-old Kirill Kruchkov died of Covid-19 in the Tula region, 200 kilometers south of Moscow, his family received a phone call from Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s state consumer protection watchdog.

“They told us lab tests showed that grandpa died of the Indian strain. I was very confused. He hasn’t been to India,” said his grandson Mikhail, who shared documents showing the results with The Moscow Times.

Like most Russians, the Kruchkov family had heard little of the Delta variant, a highly infectious strain of the coronavirus, first registered in India.

On June 3, a week after their grandfather’s death, Russian officials said just over 1,000 coronavirus infections involving variants had been discovered in Russia, only 24% of them involving the Delta variant.

But it is Delta that is now believed to be behind the explosive rise in infections and hospitalizations in Moscow.

According to government figures, Russia’s capital on Saturday registered 9,120 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, a record high for a second consecutive day. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the Delta variant accounted for nearly 90% of the new cases.

“We are starting to go through this story again but with more severe consequences,” Sobyanin told state TV, referring to the intensifying epidemic.

Facing “explosive growth” in the number of infections, officials are setting up new hospital facilities “every day and we barely manage,” he warned.

In response to the spike in cases, officials introduced unprecedented mandatory vaccinations for service workers in the capital.

Previously known as B.1.617.2, the Delta variant was first discovered in India in February, where it contributed to a devastating wave of infections that started in the spring.

Delta is considered the most contagious variant of the coronavirus yet. Studies have shown that it is at least 40% more transmissible than the Alpha variant first detected in the United Kingdom last year, which in turn was about 50% more transmissible than the Wuhan strain

What makes the Delta variant especially dangerous, doctors in hospitals across Moscow said in interviews last week, is that it does not seem to respond as well to treatments previously used on Covid-19 patients.

“The drugs we have been using throughout the pandemic are getting less effective, we have to use large doses,” said Anton, a doctor treating Covid patients in Clinical Hospital Number 52, who asked for his last name to be withheld due to new legislations forbidding medics from talking to the media.

Studies in India have already indicated that antibody drugs and Covid-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant.

“What we did before just isn’t working anymore,” said Yekaterina, a medic working at Moscow’s Clinical Hospital Number 50.

On June 10, the chief doctor of Moscow's flagship Covid-19 hospital, Denis Protsenko, told the Echo Moskvy radio station that patients were not responding to previously effective treatments.

Third wave
Moscow Mayor Sobyanin last week said that officials “did not expect the virus,” saying the arrival of the delta variant had caught the country by surprise.

Vasily Vlassov, an epidemiologist and former adviser to the Russian Health Ministry, disagreed, saying signs of a third wave had been creeping in for a while.

“Clearly, this was expected,” Vlasov told The Moscow Times.

“This is a result of having virtually no restrictions for months while the virus was around.”

Until last week, Russia had few coronavirus restrictions, with concert halls, nightclubs, and restaurants full to capacity. Earlier this month, Russia hosted the St. Petersburg annual economic forum, and the city has also welcomed thousands of foreigners from across the world for the Euro 2020 football championship.

However, a graph of Covid-19 hospitalizations from the capital’s flagship Kommunarka hospital shows that hospitalizations in Moscow have been high for months.

As Russian officials rarely study and publish data on virus variants, Vlasov said, it remains unclear how and when Delta started to spread in the country.

Early in May, Russian local officials confirmed the first cases of Delta within the country’s borders after a group of Indian students arrived in Ulyanovsk between April 17-30. The national headquarters of Rospotrebnadzor later denied the presence of the Delta strain among the students.

And despite the virus raging in India, Russia ran flights to and from the country at least twice a week throughout 2021. Passengers on flights arriving from Delhi were not told to self-isolate in Russia.

Sputnik V
The official Twitter account of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine said on June 15 that it is more effective against the Delta variant than any other vaccine that has so far published results on the strain. It also said it has submitted results for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal to be published shortly

Vaccine experts told The Moscow Times it is not possible to assess Sputnik’s efficiency without sufficient data, but questioned the assertion that it is “the best.”

“I’m very skeptical of any claims that suggest Sputnik V is the absolute best vaccine,” said Jeremy Kamil, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport.

Studies so far have shown that Western vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization with the Delta variant after two doses, with mRNA-based vaccines, like Pfizer being slightly more effective than adenovirus vector technology vaccines, like AstraZeneca and Sputnik V.

A real-world study undertaken by Public Health England showed the Pfizer shot was 96% effective against hospitalization after two doses, while the AstraZeneca shot was 92% effective.

Russian and foreign vaccine experts said they also believed Sputnik V was likely to be effective against hospitalization and death with Delta.

“Sputnik does seem to be a pretty good vaccine,” said Kamil.

“All the public needs to know is that both adenovirus and mRNA vaccines have shown effectiveness against severe infections,” he added.

Fast transmission
More worrying for Russia, however, according to experts, is early research indicating that Delta appears to transmit faster, even among fully vaccinated groups.

In India, Delta was responsible for most “breakthrough infections” — infections that occur after full vaccination — among healthcare workers.

The U.K. has also seen a spike in infections, despite having almost 80% of its adult population vaccinated. However, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.K. have not proportionally increased with the rise in infections, which points to the effectiveness of vaccines.

Mayor Sobyanin warned on Sunday that Russians should expect infections even after two vaccine shots.

“The level of immunity in order to protect oneself from the Indian strain needs to be twice as high as from the Wuhan one. Therefore, we see reinfection, we see illnesses in those who have been vaccinated,” he said.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...-variant-threatens-to-overwhelm-russia-a74260

 

[Oceanmachine]

Wrong? We are still waiting for you to provide Sputnik V's real-world efficacy data to back up the claims you've repeatedly made throughout this forum over the past 6 months that it's better than mRNA vaccines from the West, comrade.

And when I said "real-world data on the variants", I don't mean your personal opinion or what the head of Russia's Gamaleya Institute hoping they could be, I mean the actual data collected and published by the health agencies in the countries where the vaccine is currently used that shows its effectiveness on each variant, then compare them to the real-world data (here , here and here) for the Pfizer vaccine that you despite so much.

Oh and just in case you have forgotten, the Lancet's peer-review of Sputnik V's damn good 91.6% efficacy in its phase 3 trial data against the original strain from Wuhan was provided in this very thread by the biased Westerners, when you were the one calling BS on vaccine clinical trials because they are biased against Mother Russia. <Lmaoo>

Remember this broken-English rant? I sure do:

91.6% is the rating of an "A" NOT a "B"

That was my point only.

You use Lanclet and they give Sputnik a 91.6% thus your claim of it being a "B" level vaccine is nonsense

 

[Arkain2K]

91.6% is the rating of an "A" NOT a "B"

That was my point only.

You use Lanclet and they give Sputnik a 91.6% thus your claim of it being a "B" level vaccine is nonsense

So not only you have no idea what "variants" mean in English, but you don't know what "real-world data" is either.

Here, since you have absolutely nothing to back up your claim, I'll throw you a bone from the Moscow Times' analysis of Russia's own vaccination effort.

Spoiler Alert: it's a solid B at 86-90%, despite the RIDF's bizarre cherry-picking of data to make the outrageous claim that it's miraculously works even better in the real world against new variants than in the clinical trial against the original strain.

Russia’s Claims of Sputnik V's 97.6% Effectiveness Under the Spotlight
Limited data and possible methodological shortcomings raise concerns Russia is cherry-picking and embellishing vaccine data.
By Jake Cordell | April 20, 2021​

Russia is once again facing questions over its coronavirus-related data after it claimed its Sputnik V vaccine has 97.6% effectiveness based on an analysis of infections among vaccine recipients in Russia.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is funding and marketing the vaccine, said Monday it had analyzed the number of coronavirus cases among people who had received the Sputnik V vaccine and the wider population, and had found the jab to be 97.6% effective — notably higher than the 91.6% efficacy reported in peer-reviewed Phase 3 clinical trials.

RDIF said it analyzed coronavirus infections among 3.8 million vaccine recipients which had occurred at least two weeks after a person had received their second dose of Sputnik V. This was then compared with the overall number of infections across Russia during the same period, between early January until the end of March.

They found an infection rate of 0.027% among vaccinated patients, compared with 1.1% in the wider population — equivalent to effectiveness in preventing infection of 97.6%.

“This data confirms that Sputnik V demonstrates one of the best protection rates against coronavirus among all vaccines,” Kirill Dmitriev, RDIF said in a statement.

However, the findings have raised questions about the methodology used to arrive at the record high figure and seem to contradict previous official statements on how many vaccinated Russians have contracted Covid-19.

‘Embellishment’

An infection rate of 0.027% among the 3.8 million vaccinated patients implies around 1,020 individual cases across Russia during the monitored period. It appears the calculation has been based on taking the number of reported infections among people who have been vaccinated, and then dividing this by the total number of people who had completed the vaccination cycle by 31 March.

If this methodology has been used, it could be misleading, experts warn, since not all 3.8 million people were protected for the full period under analysis. According to Russia’s patchwork vaccination statistics, more than half of the 3.8 million did not complete their vaccination cycle until the final two weeks of the period under observation. This reduces the actual timeframe in which somebody who is classified as “vaccinated” could have been infected with the virus, and can thus inflate efficacy, if calculations are not adjusted to take this factor into account.

For instance, it appears a person who received their second dose of the vaccine on March 16 would only qualify as vaccinated for one day of the observed period, which runs until March 31 — thus significantly reducing their opportunity to contract the disease and be included as a case among the vaccinated group. A controlled study would have taken a fixed group of vaccinated people — for example, the estimated 741,000 who would qualify as vaccinated at the end of February — and studied them over a set period of time against another unvaccinated group of people with a similar demographic profile.

After accounting for this, analysis by The Moscow Times and independent statistician Alexander Dragan, who has been closely tracking Russia’s vaccination statistics, suggests the real world effectiveness could be to 86-90% — slightly below the results Sputnik V’s Phase 3 clinical trials, which were published in The Lancet and showed an efficacy of 91.6%.

In The Moscow Times analysis, those vaccinated on the first day of Russia’s mass vaccination campaign received a weighting of 82 days, as they were vaccinated for the full 82 days in the period studied by RDIF, whereas those vaccinated on the final day would receive a weighting of just one day, as they were only protected for one day. This adjusts for the fact that those who received their vaccination toward the end of the studied period had significantly less time in which they could be exposed to the virus.

Based on Dragan’s estimates of the pace of vaccinations across Russia, that formula would give an efficacy estimate of between 86-90%.

“This is still a very good result,” Dragan told The Moscow Times. “I don't understand why this embellishment is necessary — 85% and above is a really great number, especially when it’s based on such a large sample.”

'Very weak'

Other health experts and statisticians also questioned the RDIF claims.

“The whole idea of estimating the protective efficacy of a vaccine from this type of cohort study is very weak,” Vasiliy Vlassov, an epidemiologist at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, and former adviser to the Russian Health Ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) told The Moscow Times.

“Even a useless vaccine would show some efficacy [due to] the cohort design,” and the “healthy user effect,” he added. “There is no possibility of controlling for that — it’s why we need randomized clinical trials.”

Statistician Mikhail Tamm, who also reviewed The Moscow Times’ analysis, similarly questioned the RDIF’s claims of such high effectiveness based on the study presented. He highlighted unknown factors such as testing levels, variance in vaccination and infection rates across different regions and likely different demographics among the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups as just some aspects that could have a notable impact on the vaccine’s actual effectiveness.

“It is very difficult to estimate the true rate without much more data and much more complicated calculations,” he said. “It could quite easily be around 80%, and it could quite easily be, say, 92%. But with the data we have, [86-90%] is definitely better than the one obtained by RDIF.”

Even at the lower end of those estimates, Sputnik V would still come out as one of the most effective coronavirus vaccines in the world.

Contradictory results

Health experts said the premise of RDIF's claim — that real world effectiveness of the vaccine would be higher than efficacy seen in clinical trials — was also unusual.

“Because the real world generally involves populations with health conditions that might impact how well a vaccine works,” said Judy Twigg, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializing in Russian healthcare policy. She also pointed to virus mutations which develop after the completion of clinical trials as a factor which can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines in the real world, compared to that observed in clinical trials.

RDIF did not respond to requests by the Moscow Times to share more details of the methodology used and the underlying data. In its published statement, the fund said it would publish full results in a peer-reviewed journal in May, when it is also expected to release its own research into the effectiveness of Sputnik V against new mutations of the coronavirus.

The analysis is based on data held in a Health Ministry confidential database tracking coronavirus patients and vaccine recipients. Russia has previously cited the confidential nature of the database as precluding sharing regular daily updates on the number of vaccines the country has administered.

But even without the underlying data, other official statistics also seem to counter the claims of 97.6% effectiveness published by RDIF on Monday.

For instance, at the end of March, Moscow authorities said there had been “around 1,000” cases of vaccinated people catching the virus in Moscow alone — based on assessing those infected two weeks after receiving their second shot, the same criteria used by RDIF.

The RDIF statement Monday implies around 1,020 infections across the whole of Russia during the same period. That would suggest Moscow accounted for almost all the nationwide Covid-19 cases among vaccinated people reported by RDIF, despite only being home to around 640,000 of the 3.8 million. In other terms, the infection rate implied by the Moscow authorities’ figures is around 0.16%, Dragan said — or six times the nationwide level recorded by RDIF over the same period.

Separate analysis on the use of Sputnik V in Argentina, conducted by biologist Kirill Skripkin, implied effectiveness in the real world of around 80%, although this could be higher due to the country prioritizing jabs for medical personnel, who are more likely to come into contact with the virus.

Russia has been accused of launching an aggressive vaccine diplomacy drive around Sputnik V, which has been authorized for use in more than 60 countries. The vaccine developers recently criticized a U.S. study which showed the jab could be less effective against new strains of the virus, before accepting its findings and pointing out Sputnik V was more effective against new variants of concern than its rival vaccines.

It also accused Slovakia of “sabotage” and a “disinformation campaign” after the EU member said a batch of 20,000 jabs it received from Russia differed from those currently under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

For some, that campaign is backfiring, distracting from what many see as an undoubtedly impressive scientific achievement.

“It's unfortunate that they're undermining confidence in what appears to be a world-class vaccine, through a now-consistent pattern of exaggerated claims and incomplete data to support those claims,” said Twigg.

“What we see is the worst example of the manipulation of science for the purposes of marketing,” added Vlassov.

www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/20/russias-claims-of-976-sputnik-v-efficacy-under-the-spotlight-a73669
___

At the end of the day, you suffer the same mental problem as the RIDF: you view the fact that Sputnik V's impressive real-world performance of "B" to be offensive, which is absolutely bizarre since it's actually something to be proud of.

It's now been 3 months and the RDIF still did not submit their creative accounting for that amazing 97.6% real-world efficacy to any medical journal for peer-review like they said they would. Take that as you will.

 

[Oceanmachine]

So not only you have no idea what "variants" mean in English, but you don't know what "real-world data" is either.

Here, since you have absolutely nothing to back up your claim, I'll throw you a bone from the Moscow Times' analysis of Russia's own vaccination effort.

Spoiler Alert: it's a solid B, despite Russia's outrageous claim that it somehow works even better in the real world against new variants than in the clinical trial against the original strain.

Russia’s Claims of Sputnik V's 97.6% Effectiveness Under the Spotlight
Limited data and possible methodological shortcomings raise concerns Russia is cherry-picking and embellishing vaccine data.
By Jake Cordell | April 20, 2021​

www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/20/russias-claims-of-976-sputnik-v-efficacy-under-the-spotlight-a73669
___

At the end of the day, you suffer the same mental problem as the RIDF: you view the fact that Sputnik V being the second-best in the world with a real-world performance of "B" to be offensive, which is absolutely bizarre since it's actually something to be proud of.

Everyrhing in there said it is 90% or higher. Idk what your problem is and why you are so obsessed. Over 90% is an "A" rating

 

[Oceanmachine]

So not only you have no idea what "variants" mean in English, but you don't know what "real-world data" is either.

Here, since you have absolutely nothing to back up your claim, I'll throw you a bone from the Moscow Times' analysis of Russia's own vaccination effort.

Spoiler Alert: it's a solid B, despite Russia's outrageous claim that it somehow works even better in the real world against new variants than in the clinical trial against the original strain.

Russia’s Claims of Sputnik V's 97.6% Effectiveness Under the Spotlight
Limited data and possible methodological shortcomings raise concerns Russia is cherry-picking and embellishing vaccine data.
By Jake Cordell | April 20, 2021​

www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/20/russias-claims-of-976-sputnik-v-efficacy-under-the-spotlight-a73669
___

At the end of the day, you suffer the same mental problem as the RIDF: you view the fact that Sputnik V being the second-best in the world with a real-world performance of "B" to be offensive, which is absolutely bizarre since it's actually something to be proud of.

Well yeah english isnt my first language. How multilingual are you genius?

 

[Arkain2K]

Argentina says AZ, Sputnik V single dose cuts mortality by 70% to 80%
By Agustin Geist | June 25, 2021

​

BUENOS AIRES, June 25 (Reuters) - A single dose of Russia's Sputnik V or the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine reduces mortality from COVID-19 by between 70% and 80% in people aged 60-plus, real-world data from Argentina's national inoculation program show.

The preliminary study data, released on Friday by the country's health ministry, involved some 450,000 people aged 60 years of age and above who received one or two doses of either vaccine, which are the most widely used in Argentina.

"The first dose generates almost 80% immunity, the second, in general, increases that response and makes it more durable over time," Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said in a statement, adding with a second dose mortality decreased around 90%.

Argentina's inoculation campaign has been built around the Sputnik V and AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as using Sinopharm and CoviShield shots. The country has vaccinated over 19 million people, of which 3.8 million have received two doses.

This week the country passed 90,000 deaths from COVID-19 as it tries to leave behind a painful second wave of the virus. It currently has one of the highest average daily death tolls in the world, behind only Brazil, India and Colombia.

Vizzotti said that the data supported the country's immunization strategy of having a 12-week gap between the first and second shot, saying this was done in order to cover as much of the population at risk as possible with a single dose.

"It was an appropriate decision and the results of this study confirm that high protection has been achieved in the vaccinated population," she said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-single-dose-cuts-mortality-up-80-2021-06-25/

 

[Arkain2K]

Everyrhing in there said it is 90% or higher. Idk what your problem is and why you are so obsessed. Over 90% is an "A" rating

Great, so not only you couldn't read English properly, but apparently you don't recognize numbers either.

Do me a favor and stay out of my threads until your Reading-Comprehension reaches Elementary School level.

 

[Oceanmachine]

Great, so not only that can't read English properly, but apparently you don't recognize numbers either.

Do me a favor and stay out of my threads until your Reading-Comprehension reaches Elementary School level.

Wow you are a jerk. This is your life how sad

 

[Feniamin]

So yesterday Putin claimed that he vaccinated in February. Problem is, before that it was claimed that he got second shot in mid-April, 3 weeks and 1 day after the first shot (so in March). Says that it was Sputnik if anyone cares.

 

[Arkain2K]

Putin reveals he had the Sputnik Covid shot as Russia struggles with its vaccine uptake
By Holly Ellyatt | JUN 30 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he had received the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, as the Kremlin struggles to convince a skeptical public about the benefits of inoculation.

"I thought that I needed to be protected as long as possible. So I chose to be vaccinated with Sputnik V. The military is getting vaccinated with Sputnik V, and after all I'm the commander-in-chief," Putin said during his annual phone-in session where the public submit questions to the president.

"After the first shot, I didn't feel anything at all. About four hours later, there was some tenderness where I had the shot. I did the second [shot] at midday. At midnight, I measured my temperature. It was 37.2 [Celsius]. I went to sleep, woke up and my temperature was 36.6. That was it," Putin said in comments translated by Reuters.

Putin had previously refused to say which Covid vaccine he received in March and the Kremlin said it would keep the information a "secret." Putin was not filmed or photographed receiving the shot prompting speculation among the Russian public and international press that he didn't receive a Russian vaccine at all.

Doubts over Putin's vaccine status have not helped to allay a seeming reluctance among Russians to get a Covid vaccination, despite incentives for older people to get the shot.

Russia has authorized four home-grown vaccines for use now and was the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus shot, Sputnik V (its most well-known vaccine) last August.

The fact that the vaccine was approved before clinical trials were completed raised eyebrows among the global scientific community and that's believed to have contributed to skepticism among the public over the vaccine's safety credentials and efficacy.

Still, interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trials of the shot, involving 20,000 participants and published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in early February, found that it was 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 infection. Russia has sought to sell its vaccine to multiple countries around the world, particularly its allies.

Nonetheless, vaccination rates at home remain sluggish much to the chagrin of Putin, who has extolled the benefits of Russia's Covid vaccines and encouraged the public to take up the shots. Its vaccination rate lags many countries, including that of India, Mexico and Brazil.

Our World in Data figures suggest that 15% of Russia's population has received one dose with 12% having had their second dose.

Putin's comments come as Russia struggles to contain Covid and the delta variant surges in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Last Friday, Russia's coronavirus task force reported 20,393 new Covid cases, the most confirmed in a single day since Jan. 24, according to Reuters. The figures included 7,916 new infections in Moscow. Russia has recorded almost 5.5 million cases since the start of the pandemic.

Speaking to various members of the public from across Russia during the question-and-answer session, Putin covered a variety of topics, including rising food prices, energy infrastructure, relations with Ukraine and housing issues. Over 1 million questions were submitted to Putin, news agency TASS reported.

On the matter of compulsory vaccination of the public given the low immunization rate, Putin reiterated on Wednesday that he still didn't agree with it, although there have been moves to push Russians into accepting the shot with the prospect of restrictions and possible job losses for those that don't accept it.

In Moscow, for example, officials have said that 60% of service sector workers must get a first dose of a Covid vaccine before July 15.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/06/30...ik-v-shot-as-russia-struggles-with-covid.html

 

[Arkain2K]

How Will Moscow’s Mandatory Vaccination Drive Work?
June 28, 2021

Amid a sluggish vaccination campaign, Moscow has launched a mandatory vaccinations program for service sector workers.​

Moscow has rolled out one of the world’s most ambitious mandatory vaccination schemes, requiring 60% of all service sector workers — more than 2 million people — in the capital to be fully vaccinated within the next seven weeks.

The unprecedented push comes as the city faces a surge of cases and hospitalizations, and only around 16% of Moscow residents have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Several other Russian regions have followed suit and announced similar mandatory vaccination rules for service sector workers and civil servants.

What are the rules?
Businesses in the service sector must ensure 60% of their customer-facing staff get vaccinated with one of the four coronavirus vaccines approved for use in Russia. At least 60% must have received a first dose by July 15, and the same proportion must be fully vaccinated by Aug. 15.

The rules cover a host of service industries ranging from restaurants and bars to bank branches, post offices, fitness centers and transport providers, including both civil servants and employees of private enterprises.

Remote workers and self-contracted freelancers are also included in the 60% calculations — meaning the rules extend to Russia’s sizable gig economy businesses such as fast food delivery firms and taxi aggregators.

How many people will need to be vaccinated?
In Moscow, Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova estimated between 3.5-4 million people work in the categories subject to the mandatory vaccination decree, meaning at least 2.1-2.4 million of them will need to be vaccinated by the deadlines.

Moscow has so far administered first doses to some 2 million residents out of its official population of 12.7 million. It is not known how many service sector workers had already been vaccinated before the new rules came into force.

What happens if workers refuse?
Russia’s leaders have said the campaign is not “forced vaccination,” and that Russians still have the right to refuse to be vaccinated. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that there was no “de facto or de jure” mandatory vaccination in Russia.

But authorities have said that employers have the right to suspend workers without pay who refuse to be vaccinated.

Peskov went a step further, saying Thursday that Muscovites in the service sector who don’t want to be vaccinated “should simply stop working in the service sector.”

The 40% of workers who are not vaccinated should consist of employees who are unable to receive the vaccine for medical reasons and others “at the employer’s discretion,” according to the government’s official guidelines for businesses.

How will it be checked?
Checks will be conducted online using Russia’s nationwide vaccination database which contains the details of every Russian who has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Businesses will be required to submit a roster of employees, their relevant personal data and job function through a government web portal before July 15. City authorities will then cross-check this list against the national vaccine database to ensure each business has reached the 60% requirement.

What if businesses do not ensure 60% of their workers are vaccinated?
Moscow authorities say by law they have the right to fine businesses who do not meet the requirements and/or shutter their locations in the capital for up to 90 days.

In guidance issued to employers by Moscow’s coronavirus taskforce and the Rospotrebnadzor consumer health watchdog, representatives said that in light of the seriousness of the epidemiological situation, they would recommend that authorities close down businesses that do not abide by the rules, rather than issue fines.

Is it legal?
Under Russian law, each region’s chief sanitary doctors have the right to declare an epidemiological emergency, during which regional authorities can introduce mandatory vaccination programs. Moscow’s coronavirus task force has said the measures are legal and has been actively sharing legal opinions which support that position.

Both politicians and lawyers also point out that the scheme falls short of complete compulsory vaccination as workers do have the right to refuse to be vaccinated.

“The fact is that the employer cannot physically force employees to be vaccinated,” lawyer Yevgeniy Korchago told The Moscow Times.

Will non-Russians have to be vaccinated?
Foreign citizens are included in the requirements to vaccinate 60% of employees.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Monday that businesses will soon be able to organize the vaccination of their foreign workers with the one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine at 1,300 rubles ($18) per dose. The city started vaccinating labor migrants in pilot mode Sunday, with employers having to file a special request to have their staff included in the scheme.

Rules and guidance around the vaccination of foreign citizens in Russia have changed since the start of the country’s mass vaccination campaign six months ago. Initially, foreign citizens could easily get vaccinated for free in state clinics. But earlier this year, Moscow authorities restricted vaccination for foreigners who lack residency papers and public health insurance. According to Moscow’s official vaccination web page, only citizens of Russia are eligible to be vaccinated in state clinics for free. Some private clinics have continued vaccinating foreigners without full residency documents for a fee. Earlier in June, President Vladimir Putin said Russia should develop its vaccine tourism industry, noting that many foreigners had already come to Russia and paid for a jab.

Businesses have called on the government to make vaccination of foreigners easier — for instance, without requiring proof of a work permit — in order to help stop the spread of the virus.

What has been the reaction?
The campaign has been received with cautious optimism from employers, many of whom told The Moscow Times they favored this approach to a full lockdown or forced closures which would hit their income. However, business owners were frustrated that authorities were once again putting the responsibility to tackle the pandemic on their shoulders — with employers having to force staff to be vaccinated, check employees’ vaccination status and potentially face being closed down if they do not meet the target.

The reaction of residents has been more mixed. One poll by recruitment firm and market researcher Superjob found 60% of Russians were opposed to mandatory vaccination. According to another survey by state-run pollster VTsIOM, 52% of Russians believe mandatory vaccination of service workers would help stop the spread of the virus.

Sobyanin said there has been a surge in demand for vaccinations in the capital since the announcement, with up to five times more people being vaccinated per day than before. Many of those finally taking the jab have said they were doing so reluctantly in order not to lose their job, while others say they will ask their employers to include them in the 40% who do not need to be vaccinated.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...scows-mandatory-vaccination-drive-work-a74353

 

[Arkain2K]

Russia Posts 25,000 New Infections Daily, Highest Number of Virus Cases Since Early January
By AFP | July 4, 2021

​

Russia on Sunday reported more than 25,000 new coronavirus cases, the highest number of daily infections since early January as the country battles the surging Delta variant.

The coronavirus figures have soared since mid-June against a background of reluctance among many to get vaccinated and suspicion of home-grown shots.

Russia on Sunday announced 25,142 new infections, the highest figure since January 2 when Russia was emerging from a second wave of the pandemic.

This week Russia reported record numbers of coronavirus deaths for five days in a row, registering 697 Covid-19 fatalities on Saturday.

On Sunday, the official tally showed 663 people dying of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours.

Some experts say that Russia vastly under-reports coronavirus fatalities, counting only cases when the virus was found to be the primary cause of death after autopsy.

Moscow, the biggest virus hotspot nationwide, recorded 7,624 new cases and 111 deaths.

The government has ruled out a nationwide lockdown but this week President Vladimir Putin once again urged Russians to get vaccinated and "listen to experts" rather than rumours.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a huge challenge for the Russian authorities, and Moscow has become the first Russian city to introduce mandatory vaccinations.

City authorities said at least 60 percent of service industry workers should be fully inoculated by mid-August.

So far 137,925 people have died among 5.6 million infected in Russia, according to official figures.

On Sunday, neighbouring Kazakhstan reported 3,003 new virus cases, a record since the start of the pandemic.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...ber-of-virus-cases-since-early-january-a74420

 

[AtomicPanther]

Wow you are a jerk. This is your life how sad

Yep. @Arkain2K is a tool. Best to just ignore her.

 

[Arkain2K]

The Shocking Enormity of Russia’s Botched Pandemic Response
A massive third wave is spreading unchecked, anti-vaxxers are rampant, and the Kremlin’s vaccine diplomacy has failed.
By Alexey Kovalev, Investigative Editor at Meduza | July 5, 2021

MOSCOW—As I write this, Russia is firmly in the grip of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day, there are about 22,000 reported new infections—twice as many as during the peak of the first wave in May 2020—and more than 600 deaths. The new Delta variant of the virus, which Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin says is responsible for 90 per cent of new infections in the Russian capital, has caught Russia almost completely unawares. Despite having access to the brain power and resources of one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, Russian authorities have repeatedly squandered almost every chance to beat the pandemic. Their massive, bloated propaganda apparatus failed to do the one job it was designed for: Get the message out. Instead, the pandemic has exacerbated the crisis of trust between the Russian government and citizens. Now, the campaign for parliamentary elections in September could make fighting the pandemic even harder, since the ruling United Russia party may be even more reluctant to impose unpopular measures such as lockdowns.

Russian independent observers and journalists—including me and my colleagues at Meduza—already knew something was terribly off with Russia’s handling of the pandemic in late spring of 2020. We had looked at the numbers and recognized that COVID-19 deaths were being underreported in many regions of Russia. According to the official statistics at the time, tens of thousands of Russians were dying in 2020 of a mysterious pneumonia epidemic unrelated to COVID-19. This was hardly plausible. The more likely explanation: Russian regional authorities were writing off the majority of COVID-19 cases as “community-acquired pneumonia.”

There is no evidence of a cover-up ordered from the top. More likely, regional governorates were simply being discreet to avoid being the bearer of bad news to the Kremlin. Underreporting COVID-19 cases in the early stages of the pandemic plausibly made many Russians question the existence of the virus or lulled them into a false sense of security, although there is no poll data to back this up. What’s certain is that by November 2020, according to independent polling institute Levada, the majority of Russians did not trust their government’s COVID-19 figures: 33 percent thought them too low, while 28 percent believed they were exaggerated.

The next time I felt a sense of foreboding was in early December 2020, when I called my local clinic during the start of the Sputnik V vaccine rollout. At the time, only certain categories of frontline workers were eligible. However, vaccine uptake was so slow that the clinic told me it didn’t matter that I wasn’t prioritized—and asked if I could turn up right now. And so I did, and became one of the first Russians vaccinated with Sputnik V. I was down with a flu-like fever and fatigue for a couple of days after each of the two required doses, but recovered without any complications. I am now protected against the virus with an impressive level of spike protein antibodies. I still maintain social distancing whenever possible, avoid large public gatherings, and wear a mask.

Astonishingly, six months later I am part of only a tiny minority of Russians who have chosen to be vaccinated—or managed to be, amid a chronic shortage of vaccine doses. Off to an early start with its own vaccine, Russia is now severely lagging behind. At the time of writing, about 12 per cent are fully vaccinated, while another 4.7 percent have received a single dose—a much lower vaccination rate than China and Brazil, let alone most of the developed world. And Russians are steadfast in their anti-vaccine convictions: According to a recent Morning Consult poll, Russia now has one of the highest levels of vaccine skepticism in the world, with 35 percent saying they are unwilling to get vaccinated. Even the United States, where vaccine skepticism is rampant, has only 19 percent committed anti-vaxxers. Recently the Kremlin admitted that its original goal to vaccinate 60 percent of the population by September will be unachievable, according to a report by TV Rain. Instead, the government has settled for a more realistic 30 percent.

In fact, the situation is so dire that some of Russia’s regions are already reintroducing lockdowns. In Moscow, city authorities have ordered compulsory vaccinations for certain categories of public servants and service industry workers and barred unvaccinated people from entering bars and restaurants. Not that Russians are easily cowed: There is now a booming black market for fake vaccination certificates. There are also reports of Russians paying bribes to have their vaccine dose discarded and be injected with saline solution instead.

None of this should come as a surprise. Instead of promoting safety measures and campaigning to get the public vaccinated, Russian state-owned media have spent an inordinate amount of time ridiculing other nations for their harsh lockdowns—which Russia never imposed—and trashing their vaccines. Not that Russians have much of a choice over which jab to get: Only the domestically produced Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona, and Covivac vaccines are permitted for use in Russia. One of these, EpiVacCorona, has been embroiled in a constant stream of scandal and skepticism about its efficacy and has been all but publicly accepted as a dud.

Television news programs and state news agencies, such as RIA Novosti, have gleefully amplified every complication and casualty from vaccines produced by BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca and gloated over every development hiccup. Unsurprisingly, vaccine skepticism is so rampant at these media outlets that the CEO of state news agency Rossiya Segodnya sent out a company-wide memo pleading the employees to get vaccinated and avoid the fate of three of their colleagues who died in intensive care in Moscow during a single week.

Meanwhile, Russian foreign broadcaster RT has been feeding Western audiences with anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories, comparing lockdowns and other restrictions to the Nazi occupation and apartheid. That same twisted rhetoric is now spreading in Russia: On June 22, Egor Beroev, a prominent Russian TV and film actor, spoke at an awards ceremony and gave an impassioned defense of unvaccinated Russians, who he claimed were being “segregated” from the rest of the society like the Jews under the Nazis. To drive the point home, Beroev wore a yellow six-pointed star. His speech was met with applause. Similar stars adorned the T-shirts of protesters picketing the campaign headquarters of the ruling United Russia party in Moscow to protest against mandatory vaccinations.

Among Russians, the reasons for refusing to be vaccinated vary—some will mention that Sputnik V was rushed through development and approved before phase III trial data was available. Others will insist that they don’t need any vaccines since they’ve already recovered from COVID-19. More cling to a motley array of conspiracy theories involving the Antichrist or a secret cabal seeking to make Russians infertile. Russia’s vaccine skeptics are found all over society; their ranks include Russian Orthodox right-wingers, center-left parliamentary leaders, and anti-Putin activists. If there were an anti-vaccine party, it would easily beat United Russia in the upcoming elections.

Not all unvaccinated Russians subscribe to conspiracy theories or are influenced by the example of top government officials who don’t wear a mask in public, let alone get a jab on national television. Sometimes there are simply not enough doses, especially in Russia’s far-flung regions. Back in December, when the first batch of Sputnik V arrived in Argentina, some Russians were grumbling that there were more Russian vaccines available in Buenos Aires than major Russian cities.

In fact, less than one month after Argentina became the first foreign country to adopt Sputnik V in December 2020, it had more people vaccinated with the Russian vaccine than all of Russia outside of Moscow, according to Russian independent news site Mediazona. Even now, the Argentinian Ministry of Health’s reports are the most extensive source of information about Sputnik V’s safety. And they confirm what the Russian government has failed to convey to its own citizens: Russia’s primary vaccine is indeed safe and effective.

Today, however, Argentina is unhappy about its arrangement with Russia: As of late June, it has only received a fraction of the number of doses that had been promised to be delivered by March. So instead of Russia’s international image getting a boost, Moscow’s attempt at vaccine diplomacy has turned into another flop. According to Bloomberg, as of mid-June, Russia has only delivered 17 million doses of almost 900 million promised to its clients around the world. Argentina and Mexico are already turning to other vaccine producers. And on June 29, Guatemala also embarrassed Russia by demanding a refund on its advance payment for an undelivered batch of Sputnik V. But instead of addressing the logistical issues obstructing deliveries—problems that were visible from early on—Sputnik V distributor Russian Direct Investment Fund and its CEO Kirill Dmitriev instead complained about the international media’s alleged bias against the Russian vaccine.

Now that measures like restricting restaurant visits to the fully vaccinated (in effect in Moscow since June 28) and mandatory vaccinations for workers in certain industries (implemented in several regions) are finally underway, the abysmally low vaccine uptake will probably get a boost. But the sudden tightening of pandemic policies following many months of inconsistency and lack of positive examples is damaging the already low confidence and trust in the government. Even as restaurants are now off-limits to most Russians, public gatherings for thousands of people are apparently fine. Masks are mandatory on public transport—but not in the State Duma or at United Russia campaign rallies. No wonder that even during the current wave of the pandemic, barely half the passengers in a packed metro car in Moscow were wearing them during one of my recent trips.

There are signs that some Russians are at least thinking about getting more serious about the pandemic. Now that there is picketing against the new health measures in Moscow, the same state television that led the cheerleading about anti-lockdown protests in London, Paris, and Brussels is suddenly mute about similar protests in Russia. In a somber tone, the commentators are now urging their audiences to get vaccinated as soon as possible. But Russia’s terrible numbers don’t lie: By now, these efforts are too little, too late.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/0...wave-covid-deaths-delta-variant-anti-vaxxers/

 

[PEB]

The Shocking Enormity of Russia’s Botched Pandemic Response
A massive third wave is spreading unchecked, anti-vaxxers are rampant, and the Kremlin’s vaccine diplomacy has failed.
By Alexey Kovalev, Investigative Editor at Meduza | July 5, 2021

I'm waiting for Putin to call it China virus that would be great. Unfortunate so many suffer due to the lack of leadership getting people any form of vaccine.