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Coronavirus pandemic

Herd immunity to COVID in Russia can be reached in several months — deputy health minister

Mass vaccination of the adult population kicked off in Russia on January 18

SOLNECHNOGORSK /Moscow region/, August 6. /TASS/. The necessary level of herd immunity to the novel coronavirus infection may be reached in Russia within several months but much will depend on people, Russian First Deputy Health Minister Viktor Fisenko said on Friday.

"I think it is a matter of several months. But I would like to stress that it will depend on us as well," he said, adding that a key task today is to achieve herd immunity to the coronavirus.

"Most of those hospitalized are people non-vaccinated people. Practically 100% of them. The vaccine really guarantees that you won’t catch the disease and even if you do, you will have a mild form," he said.

Mass vaccination of the adult population kicked off in Russia on January 18. Today, four coronavirus vaccines have been registered in Russia, namely Sputnik V and Sputnik Light developed by the Russian health ministry’s Gamaleya Center, EpiVacCorona developed by the sanitary watchdog’s Vector Center, and CoviVac developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Chumakov Center. Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona, and CoviVac are two-dose vaccines, while Sputnik Light is a one-dose version of Sputnik V.

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