Russia recorded this Wednesday, for the first time, more than 900 deaths from Covid-19 in twenty-four hours, an epidemic outbreak exacerbated by a sluggish vaccination, forcing some regions to introduce health passes.

In the last twenty-four hours, 929 deaths caused by the coronavirus have been recorded in Russia, which is a new record for this country, according to the latest daily government report.

The authorities have also listed 25,133 new cases of people tested positive for Covid-19, according to the same source The government count, which is based on a very restrictive definition of deaths due to Covid-19, officially reaches 212,625 dead, making Russia the most bereaved country in Europe.

But the real toll is much heavier.

The Rosstat statistics institute, which has a broader definition of pandemic deaths, reported more than 350,000 deaths at the end of July.

A slow motion vaccination campaign

The number of new deaths and contaminations has continued to climb in recent weeks, regularly breaking daily records. On Wednesday, 3,589 cases were recorded in Moscow, the capital, and 2,187 in St. Petersburg, the country's second city. In order to preserve a fragile economy, the government has not introduced strong national measures, such as containment, since spring 2020 to stem the spread of the virus.

The Kremlin, usually much more centralizing and concerned above all with preserving the economy, considers that it is up to the regional authorities to make the decisions. A sign of growing concern, the health pass, necessary to go to restaurants or places hosting cultural or sporting events, was reintroduced in October in six regions. Others, such as Kaliningrad and Chuvashia, are due to follow within the week. Since mid-June, Russia has been hit hard by the Delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious.

The epidemic is reinforced by a laborious vaccination campaign, the refusal of the authorities to introduce stricter health measures, and the low respect for the wearing of masks among the population.

According to figures from the specialist site Gogov, less than 30% of Russians are currently fully vaccinated, while there are several national vaccines.

The population is very suspicious of the serums produced in Russia and which the Kremlin has repeatedly advertised, in particular Sputnik-V which was launched even before the completion of clinical trials.

While studies seem to confirm its effectiveness, neither the WHO nor the EU have yet approved it.

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