Health Care Ministry and Russia’s consumer protection watchdog consider launch of ‘COVID-19 passports’ in Tatarstan ‘unfeasible’

No vaccine protects one from infections 100%

It isn’t planned to launch “anti-COVID-19 passports” for patients who had coronavirus and were vaccinated in Tatarstan following Bashkiria’s example. Vice Minister of Health Care Ministry of Tatarstan and head of Kazan’s Health Care Administration Vladimir Zhavoronkov named this unfeasible, at least at this stage of the fight against the pandemic.

“At this stage, it is important for us to conduct this vaccination, to make sure it is available, it is done well. When it comes to determining a group of vaccinated and non-vaccinated people, I think here and now it is an unfeasible story. But we will see in the future, maybe we will receive federal recommendations. Now such issues aren’t discussed,” Zhavoronkov claimed.

Vice head of Russia’s consumer rights protection watchdog in Tatarstan Lyubov Avdonina confirmed this too and noted that no vaccine protects one from an infection a hundred per cent: “I mean we can’t say we have been vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, forgot the masks and began to see a lot of people. This is why nowadays vaccination certainly protects one from severe cases, from deaths, complications like any other vaccine”.

We should remind you that head of Bashkiria Rady Khabirov announced on 18 January the launch of Anti-COVID-19 Passport. People who had COVID-19 and antibodies as well as those who received a vaccine against coronavirus will get it. As head of the Tatarstan president’s press service Liliya Galimova told Realnoe Vremya, Tatarstan isn’t planning to launch such “passports”.

There’s only Sputnik V so far, but EpiVacCorona will arrive soon

Mass vaccination against coronavirus kicked off in Tatarstan on 18 January on 57 sites. As for the vaccine against coronavirus, there is no deficit, according to Zhavoronkov. Nowadays around 13,000 kits of doses have arrived. 5,178 people have been vaccinated, 1,348 people of them are health workers.

“You yourself see in these numbers that there is no deficit. Indeed, people are showing such consciousness, actively receiving the vaccine. Even though it is becoming mass, it isn’t an emergency. There is a waiting list... Those who want to receive a vaccine will do it. There is some delay, but it doesn’t mean that this won’t be done. In any case, they will receive the vaccine on the day of their appointment,” the vice head of the Tatarstan Health Care Ministry noted.

Now the number of vaccination sites is growing and the amount of time for vaccination is reducing thanks to improving the process in Tatarstan.

At the moment, only Sputnik V developed by Gamaleya is administered massively in Tatarstan. The arrival of VECTOR’s EpiVacCorona is expected in late January and early February.

“Today it has been delivered to those regions where it is logistically hard to deliver Sputnik V vaccine, as the storage temperature is more certain, -18 degrees and lower,” Lyubov Avdnonina said.

Zhavoronkov reminded the audience that the vaccination includes two stages with a 21-day difference, and anti-bodies appear after the second stage. Nowadays, it is enough to talk with a doctor to receive Sputnik V vaccine.

“Having antibodies isn’t an obstacle to vaccination. This is why there is no problem... If there are antibodies, a vaccine will simply spur the generation of better immunity, this is why one shouldn’t be afraid. And one should not think that one will fall ill later. The jab itself doesn’t cause the disease and can’t do it. It is possible when antibodies haven’t yet appeared, the organism hasn’t protected itself from the virus, and in this case, one can have the disease. But this has nothing to do with the vaccine in any case,” Avdonina added.