At the same time, Dmitry Peskov called for a “sober and balanced” approach to working with opponents of vaccination and not turning it into an “attack on witches”
An open letter from the heads of large covid clinics to opponents of vaccination and quarantine restrictions was positively evaluated in the Kremlin, said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
«In the know, we evaluate very positively»,— TASS quotes a Kremlin representative.
Peskov also spoke about the hope that the indisputable authority of the doctors who signed this message will help at least one of these people to change their point of view about vaccinations. “There are not so many of them, but there is still such a layer of people. And at least we can hope that the indisputable authority of those people who signed the appeal will help at least one of these people to change their point of view,” Peskov added.
At the same time, he advocated a “sober and balanced” approach to working with opponents of vaccination. He commented on the information about the order of Roszdravnadzor to send to the investigating authorities and the prosecutor’s office data on persons who spread false information about vaccination.
«It’s one thing— to express a reasoned point of view, another thing— to call for something. This is all that only a court can consider and render some kind of verdict,” he said.
“Of course, it was bad to turn all this into an attack on witches. Here, of course, we need a very calm, sober, balanced approach,” the press secretary of the president summed up.
The authors of the letter, the chief physicians of major covid hospitals in Russia, appealed to well-known public figures and politicians who criticized vaccines or mandatory vaccination and restrictive measures. Doctors suggested that they visit the red zone hospitals where COVID-19 patients lie, intensive care units and morgues.
“We are aware of your position on the vaccination of Russian citizens against COVID-19. We’re all a little busy right now, and you can probably guess what. However, considering how many people read, listen and listen to you, we will find time to take you through the red zones, intensive care units and pathology departments of our hospitals. Maybe after that you will change your position and fewer people will die,” the letter said.
Among the doctors who signed the letter are Denis Protsenko, the head physician of the hospital in Kommunarka, Mariana Lysenko, the head physician of the Moscow City Clinical Hospital No. 52, Valery Vechorko, the chief physician of the city Clinical Hospital No. 15, Andrey Skoda, the head physician of the State Clinical Hospital No. 67. In addition to Moscow doctors, the letter was also signed by Denis Gusev, the chief physician of Botkin Hospital in St. Petersburg, and chief physicians from Samara, Sochi, Krasnodar and Khanty-Mansiysk.
The message is addressed to 12 well-known public figures and politicians and other opponents of vaccination. Among those mentioned by name were the leaders of the Communist Party and “Fair Russia” Gennady Zyuganov and Sergey Mironov, Vice Speaker of the State Duma from “United Russia” Peter Tolstoy, leader of the movement “The Essence of Time” Sergey Kurginyan, actress Maria Shukshina, singers Natalia Vetlitskaya and Katya Lel, actors Egor Beroev and Oscar Kucera, leader of the group “Alice” Konstantin Kinchev, musician Yuri Loza.
President Vladimir Putin said on October 21 that Russia as a whole does not currently have mandatory vaccination against coronavirus. “I have already said that vaccination becomes mandatory in our country if it is included in the national calendar, but vaccination against coronavirus infection is not included in the national calendar, so in this sense it is not mandatory,” he said.
At the same time, he recalled that regional authorities have the right to introduce mandatory vaccination due to the deterioration of the epidemic situation.
As of November 19, the level of collective immunity in Russia was 50.2%. Operstab calculates this indicator using a special model that also takes into account those who were ill no earlier than six months ago. The first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the country has already been administered 66.4 million times, the second 58.7 million times, follows from the data of the operational headquarters. It also includes the results of revaccination in these data.
According to Alexander Ginzburg, director of the Gamalei Center, Russia can achieve the required level of collective immunity to COVID-19 within three months if vaccination coverage increases four to five times. “The volume of vaccination per day should be increased four to five times, then we will reach the necessary threshold of immunization coverage within three months and stop bending our fingers about the next wave,” he said.
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