MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. There is no forced vaccination in Russia and there never will be, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Wednesday.
"I think that there won’t be any national forced vaccination and it cannot happen. In this matter, there should only be a voluntary decision by the majority of our population, the understanding that this is the only way to contain the further spread of the pandemic," she told journalists.
According to the speaker, it is necessary to boost awareness. "[It is necessary] to provide explanations to people. Medics, doctors should do this, it should be done by professionals, experts for the people to make an informed decision [on inoculation]. It seems to me that in Russia information on COVID developments is delivered openly, honestly, we are not hiding anything from the population - this is very important. The people should understand what’s going on and make a decision accordingly," she said.
The upper house speaker also noted that she thinks it is acceptable for some regions to offer additional incentives in order to motivate residents to get vaccinated. "It seems to me, this is acceptable. If the experts are now recommending that it is advisable for people over 60 to speed up making a decision on inoculation, then it is necessary to listen to the specialists, necessary to listen to the experts," she added.
According to the latest global statistics, about 235.9 mln people have been infected worldwide and more than 4.8 mln deaths have been reported. To date, 7,662,560 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 6,778,900 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 212,625 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.