Faced with a surge in Covid cases in recent weeks, the mayor of Moscow announces the compulsory vaccination of part of the city's inhabitants. The employees of the sector will be concerned ...

Covid-19: Moscow commits to compulsory vaccination

Queue in front of a vaccination center in Moscow, January 18, 2021. REUTERS - Shamil Zhumatov

Text by: Daniel Vallot Follow

3 min

Faced with a surge in Covid cases in recent weeks, the mayor of Moscow announces the compulsory vaccination of part of the city's inhabitants.

This will concern employees in the transport and service sector.

The Russian capital has set itself the goal of vaccinating 60% of these employees in two months.

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From our correspondent in Moscow,

The mayor of Moscow had not hidden in recent weeks his concern at the outbreak of contaminations among the inhabitants of the capital.

And the week of leave decreed a few days ago seems insufficient to contain the disease.

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See also: Covid-19 in Russia: a week off work in Moscow to counter the epidemic

Faced with a third murderous wave, the Russian capital and its region have therefore decided to launch a compulsory vaccination campaign.

All local government employees will be affected as well as employees in the tertiary sector, particularly in transport, shops and restaurants.

Objective stated: to vaccinate 60% of these employees by mid-August.

Only people who can justify medical contraindications may be exempted.

For the moment, only the Russian capital and the region which surrounds it engage in this policy of compulsory vaccination.

So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken out against the measure and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that no country-wide obligations were envisaged.

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If the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin resolves to this radical measure, it is because the inhabitants of the Russian capital are still so reluctant to be vaccinated.

Russia may boast of having been the first country in the world to approve an

anti-Covid vaccine

, the population continues to be wary of it.

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To read also: Covid-19: the mayor of Moscow deplores the reluctance of the Russians to be vaccinated

It must be said that in the absence of restrictive measures since the beginning of the year, life has followed an almost normal course: restaurants are open, as are theaters and cinemas, and the wearing of masks in transport and shopping is not always respected.

In addition, the

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Systematically truncated disease and its mortality since the start of the pandemic have fueled the feeling that the country was immune from its most serious consequences.

Officially, Russia deplores 127,000 deaths linked to Covid.

But based on the excess mortality recorded since the start of the pandemic, the true figure is actually twice as high.

Covid-19: Moscow commits to compulsory vaccination

Covid-19: Moscow commits to compulsory vaccination

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