The city of Moscow on Saturday (December 5th) began to vaccinate workers at risk in new vaccination centers opened across the city.
Seventy vaccine centers have been opened in the Russian capital, initially intended for social workers, medical staff and teachers.
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"
Citizens of the main groups at risk who, because of their professional activities are in contact with many people can be vaccinated,
" the authorities said.
Russia was one of the first countries to announce the development of a vaccine - dubbed Sputnik V after the Soviet satellite - in August, even before large-scale clinical trials began.
The vaccine is currently in the third and final phase of clinical trials with 40,000 volunteers.
Read also: Vaccines "do not mean zero Covid", warns WHO
Its creators announced an efficiency rate of 95% last month, according to preliminary results.
According to them, the vaccine will be cheaper and easier to store and transport than some others.
The vaccine, administered in two doses 21 days apart, is a "
viral vector
"
vaccine
using two human adenoviruses.
It will be free for Russian citizens and administered on a voluntary basis.
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On Saturday, health authorities said that during this first phase of vaccination in Moscow, the vaccine would not be administered to workers over 60, people with chronic diseases, pregnant or breastfeeding women.
They did not indicate when the treatment would be available to the general public.
On Friday, December 4, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that 5,000 people had registered within five hours of opening online registration.
"
I want to be sure that the coronavirus will not infect me and my relatives,
" Sergei Bouslaïev, 42, who works in insurance, told AFP journalists on Saturday.
“
I want to be able to go to the gym safely and resume a normal life
,” he added.
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On Saturday, Russia recorded 28,782 new infections in 24 hours, a new daily record, bringing the total to 2,431,731 cases since the start of the pandemic, placing the country in fourth place in the world in number of cases.
Despite the increase in cases, any new national confinement is for the moment excluded in order to avoid bringing the economy to a halt.
