Some 37 mln Russians immunized against COVID-19 — deputy health minister

MOSCOW, August 5. / TASS /. The number of Russians, who have received the COVID-19 jab, surged by 3 mln to 37 mln over the past week, Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev stated during the online consultation ‘Protection against COVID-19: measures against a new coronavirus infection’. "We have already inoculated 37 mln people across the country, while over the past seven days, the figure climbed by 3 mln," Gridnev noted. Russia has been immunizing people against COVID-19 since January 18, 2021. Initially, the country’s authorities planned to bring the herd immunity to 60%, however, in early July, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed to hammer out ways to increase this figure to at least 80%. Head of Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova explained that the decision was connected with the emergence of new COVID-19 variants. Read more