According to Anna Popova, head of the Russian Consumer Protection and Control Agency, this is an important topic and is being studied by this country. She said the Russian Institute of Microbiology Saratov is analyzing all available information about the changes of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the world. The changes, which are heavily talked about now in several countries, mainly Europe, have been visible since September, Ms. Popova noted. The first findings with similar or very similar changes were in June 2020.
The head of the Russian Consumer Protection and Control Agency Popova said that Covid-19 would become a seasonal infectious disease like the flu, with no reason to hope that its spread would stop. At the same time, in her opinion, the pandemic in the world could last for a while.
Popova announced the first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Russia last week. This strain was found in a person returning from the UK.
Earlier, on January 13, speaking at a government meeting, President V. Petin asked to begin a mass vaccination of Covid-19 for all citizens from the beginning of next week. The Russian head confirmed that the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine is the best in the world, with no other drug that has proven such a level of protection and safety. At the same time, according to Putin, Russia’s vaccine transport process is simple, requires no unusual storage conditions. President Putin also requested a review of the effectiveness of the vaccine on new variants.
According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tachiana Golikova, research conducted by the Vector Center showed that the vaccine is effective against the new Covid-19 strain. But scientists are continuing to work to be absolutely sure about this. She also said that Russia is ready to deploy the mass vaccination of Sputnik-V vaccine from January 18 to. By the end of January, more than 2.1 million doses of the vaccine will be in circulation. Manufacturers are continuing to increase production.
With the epidemic trend gradually stabilizing thanks to a series of measures, including widespread vaccination of people since mid-December last year, Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov announced today, schools in 85 Russian subjects will restore the full-time school regime from January 18. In the capital Moscow – the nation’s heart, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also signed a decree that students in the capital will return to a normal school regime from January 18.
Before that, due to the impact of the epidemic, schools in Russia had to switch to online learning.
In related developments, as of today, Russia has recorded more than 3.5 million people with Covid-19, of which the number of new cases discovered in the past 24 hours is more than 24,700. The total number of people cured was more than 2.9 million, the number of deaths was nearly 64,500.