Teachers & Covid

COVID 19 CRISIS CONTINUES IN RUSSIA

Many teachers are being told to choose between taking the vaccination or losing their jobs

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

'Covid 19 is still killing people! Save lives by getting Vaccinated', and 'How many more people have to die before you take the vaccination? Get vaccinated.' 

Those are the slogans that momentarily flash up when you walk down the Leningradski Shosse while you emerge from the metro station Aeroport near the city center of Moscow. But as soon as this billboard is read it folds away quickly as another huge poster surfaces advertising holidays in what is usually an over-crowded Russian resort in either Sochi or the Crimea! But my attention wanders to a floating pink balloon with a silver ribbon nearby. How did it get there? This solitary abandoned balloon is bobbing about the relentless traffic and is being blown in different directions. Will it be run over by the traffic? Will it burst? It begins to descend on to the front window screen of a car but is sent veering toward the park. And then it vanishes from sight. Whence did this balloon come from? Was it from a birthday party or some promotion of a new shop? Had it reached the other side of the road? When I walked over to the park I was startled by its banal odyssey. I found it lying on the grass grounded on the park. It seemed inert and had shrunk a little. It looked languid, limp and sagged. All its energy had been spent. The fate of this balloon being blasted by the ongoing traffic in all directions sums up how many people might see themselves in this crisis. They have not much control over their own fate. They feel helpless and their energy dissipated. They are being blown around by inexplicable forces from different directions. After this they feel as listless as this balloon. They feel dejected, deflated and abandoned. Only a few months ago the Russian government had told them they had won the battle against the Virus and that there would be a return to normality. They were also told that taking the vaccination was voluntary. Now at the Institute of Power and Energy, at schools and many work places workers are being told to take the vaccination. And if they don't take this vaccination they will be fired from their jobs. So why does the President tells them one thing, and employers another thing?

 

The Russian government seem to be coming round to the idea of officially making taking the vaccination compulsory even if they don't officially admit this. There is no doubt that over the past week we have been witnessing a third wave that is unprecedented. It is dubbed the Delta strain. It is far worse than the second and third wave and people are justified in being anxious and alarmed about this deepening crisis. The number of deaths from Covid 19 has broken records. On 6th July as many as 737 are recorded as dying. The average death rate is more than twice the number as recorded during the second wave. And the number of deaths and infections has shot up in practically all the regions of Russia. The number of deaths from Covid in relation to the number of ill has risen from 3.3 to 6% in Saint Petersburg, 1.1 to 2.5% in Moscow and from 2.4 to 6% in the Irkutskoyi region. Experts warn that the potential number of deaths can reach from a further 320,000 to even half a million.

In Moscow, 1.3 million are estimated to be sick and as many as 6.5 thousand people are infected everyday.

 

It is odd to read an avalanche of posters and pictures pleading with people to take the vaccination. But what if they can't do this? In order to take the vaccination you have to show documents, medical insurance and in some cases, have to pay a fee. This red tape can deter at least one million migrants in Moscow who lack the proper papers and income. An additional problem is that in many of the regions of Russia the vaccination is unavailable. They face the same problem as Germans who also can't obtain a possible vaccination due to shortages.

The Russian government like many governments see salvation in ensuring the whole population is vaccinated. Officials are under pressure to strongly persuade or rather 'force ' their employees to take the vaccination. They have also been taking a few measures to convey the impression that they are seen to be doing something. For instance, you can only currently visit and dine in a restaurant, cafe or pub if you can show a Q. R. code. This would indicate you have taken a P.C.R. test or a vaccination. The problem with this is that it doesn't often work. 

"My American friend was invited to a birthday party which was held at a restaurant," said Yevgeni, a Russian businessman. "He thought he had a Q.R. certificate but discovered the one he got was for travelling and not visiting restaurants. He discovered he needed to do three tests to do three different things on his business trip to Russia. He told me, 'Look I don't have the time to do all this!'"

It seems that this vaccination is often being enforced without any careful discretion or discrimination. The way in which this vaccination is being imposed does not reassure a population which deeply distrusts the vaccination not to mention doctors.

 

According to a recent Levada opinion poll, as many as 54% of Russians don't want to take the vaccination. As many as 33% claimed they feared very negative side affects and 20% would prefer to wait until further trials. {The vaccination tests only passed through two stages when it requires a third stage}.

 

The huge extent of opposition to taking this vaccination was indicated by the number of people purchasing fake documents which falsely confirmed they had taken the test. That a considerable number of people have purchased such documents is indicated by the fact government officials have widely published the legal consequences of taking such measures. Rogue companies who do this can face heavy fines and sellers severe prison sentences.

So we see a Russia that is deeply divided about taking this vaccination and what to do next. Despite the constant wailing of ambulance sirens along the Leningradski motorway, people continue to casually stroll around the streets in a laid-back manner. Everyone seems relaxed until you notice the tense faces of very old people or the infirm. They tend to keep on their masks  practically everywhere, never mind in shops.

 

It is highly likely that the Russian state will adopt much more radical measures to control the situation as the death toll dramatically rises. That suggests an official compulsory vaccination program as well as enforcing a lock down in Autumn may be on the cards. They may well be forced to make several U-turns!