Russia rolls out COVID-19 vaccine in Moscow

Coronavirus vaccination in Russia.
(Image credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia launched its nationwide coronavirus immunization effort Saturday in Moscow, where thousands of workers in the city's health, education, and social services systems have signed up to receive the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine at 70 vaccinations facilities throughout the capital.

Those eligible for the inoculation at this stage include people in the aforementioned professions between 18 and 60 years old. People who have had respiratory illnesses within the last two weeks, those with chronic illnesses, and pregnant and breastfeeding women cannot receive a shot. Producers are only expected to make 2 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year, so the Moscow rollout is considered a preliminary step.

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BBC reports several of the people who went to clinics to get vaccinated Saturday were calm despite the outstanding questions, including one doctor who said her experience treating COVID-19 patients informed her decision to take her chances with the vaccine instead. Read more at The Associated Press and BBC.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.