There are three widely available COVID-19 vaccines in Russia, but many Russians say they won't get a shot because they don't trust something made in their country.
Russia announced last August that it had its first vaccine, called Sputnik V, and President Vladimir Putin's daughter had been inoculated with it. Researchers have found that Sputnik V, which is also being used in Brazil and Turkey, is about 91 percent effective. Even with multiple vaccination options, only 14 percent of Russia's 146 million residents have been vaccinated with at least one dose of a vaccine, and the government will not hit its goal of getting 30 million Russians vaccinated by June.
Samyr Oynushev, 29, of Moscow told NBC News he believes COVID-19 vaccines are necessary, but will not get one made in Russia. "If I had a choice, I would rather take a non-Russian vaccine," he said. "I think that [low vaccination rates] are primarily the fault of the government, that people don't trust them so much."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There have been giveaways of cars and groceries to entice people into getting vaccinated, and in Moscow, bars and restaurants have been ordered to serve only people who have proof of vaccination or antibodies. Across Russia, the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are going up — 619 people died on Saturday, the highest number since Dec. 24, and in Moscow, the highly contagious Delta variant is linked to 90 percent of coronavirus cases reported last week.
A study published in the journal Nature estimates that in St. Petersburg, about 45 percent of residents have COVID-19 antibodies, and that's another reason why many people are avoiding getting vaccinated. Epidemiologist Vasily Vlassov, infected with COVID-19 in January, is among those who said he does not feel motivated to get a Russian-made vaccine. "Russians know German cars are better than Russia's cars and they have a problem believing that a Russian vaccine is better," he told NBC News. Vlassov is now in Israel, and said he is thinking about getting the Pfizer shot before heading home.
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
