Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a meeting with members of the Russian government that the main task now was to increase the rate of vaccination against coronavirus in the country.
According to the head of state, this summer has become “another challegne” in the fight against the novel coronavirus infection.
“This insidious, reoccuring epidemic is causing a lot of problems for us. This is happening not only in our country, but also in the vast majority of other countries around the world. It is difficult to understand many colleagues who still continue to distinguish between the pandemic in their country and somewhere else, and slow down the registration of vaccines which are definitely safe and effective, in particular, our vaccine. I hope that we will still be able to organize this work together, since doing it in silos is meaningless,” Putin said.
The Russian president said that “it is extremely important to convince people to get vaccinated.”
“This is the only way to block the epidemic. At the same time, it is necessary to provide a detailed and professional explanation of the complex issues concerning vaccination that citizens have questions about. It is very important that most people understand that they need to be vaccinated to save themselves, their relatives, and friends. It is necessary not to impose the vaccine but explain the reasons why it is needed. I would like to emphasize that the epidemic is a very stressful experience for people,” Putin said.
He recalled that vaccinations against coronavirus are not included in the national vaccination plan, which means they are optional. But according to the law of 1998, the governors of regions, acting in accordance with the recommendations of the chief sanitary doctors, have the right to introduce mandatory vaccination for certain categories of citizens in the case of a sharp increase in the incidence of a disease. Many heads of regions have used this right.
“It is necessary that people know about this, and they should also know who must not be vaccinated, and for what reasons, for example, due to a health condition. It is necessary, of course, to monitor the rights of people who are concerned about this vaccination campaign due to their chronic diseases that mean that they cannot not be vaccinated,” the President of the Russian Federation explained.
Vladimir Putin added that an important component of the vaccination campaign is the logistics and distribution of the vaccine. If it is in stock in warehouses, it should be distributed among medical institutions in a timely manner.
Putin earlier commented on the introduction of mandatory vaccination in some regions, and also revealedthat he had been vaccinated with the Sputnik V.