‘All necessary measures have been introduced and are working’: up to 8k people vaccinated in Tatarstan a day
There are no mandatory ones...
The government of Tatarstan is not going to introduce new restrictions due to an increase in the number of coronavirus diseases in the republic. This was told to Realnoe Vremya by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan and the head of the republican operation centre for combating the disease, Leyla Fazleeva. The fact that new restrictions are not required was also mentioned by the head of Rospotrebnadzor of Russia, Anna Popova, although the agency recommended wearing masks in public places.
“All necessary measures have been introduced and are working. No new ones are planned," Fazleeva said.
At the same time, she noted an increase in daily cases of coronavirus infection. Based on official statistics, it began in mid-July, and by the end of August it accelerated noticeably. For example, on the 27th day of the last month of summer, 176 new cases were detected, and already on September 1, the number of infections increased to 366.
If we study the statistics of daily diseases since the beginning of the pandemic, then the increase in the number of daily cases in the autumn-winter period will be quite natural and predictable. For example, by the end of 2020, the number of infections from summer 20-30 per day increased to 100, and in 2021 — from 30-50 to 250-270.
In absolute terms, of course, the current seasonal growth shows records. For example, 755 cases of infection were detected on 10 September. The reason for this lies in the contagiousness of the most common strain — Omicron. In Tatarstan, it accounts for 95% of all infections. Back in January of this year, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, stated that it is up to seven times more contagious than other variants of the coronavirus. The head of the Gamaleya Centre, Alexander Ginzburg, also spoke about this at the end of last year. However, mortality and the likelihood of severe complications when infected with Omicron is lower compared to other strains.
Despite the absolute seasonal record, the current incidence of coronavirus does not reach the perfect maximum, which was recorded in Tatarstan on February 14 this year. Then 3,970 new cases were detected at once during the day.
...but there are recommendations
On 10 September, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov recommended that the mask regime be returned to the collectives — and this is not the first time he has done this.
“It is necessary to ensure strict compliance with sanitary requirements. We recommend introducing a mask regime in collectives working in constant contact with the population, there is a crowding of workers, there is no possibility of observing social distance," the president of the republic said.
He noted that the incidence of coronavirus in the republic has increased 1,8 times over the past week. In these conditions, it is important for Tatarstan citizens to undergo vaccination and revaccination in order to reduce the risks of contracting the virus. As of September 8, in Tatarstan, 2 million 707 thousand people were vaccinated with the first component, 2 million 536 thousand — with the second.
Meager level of collective immunity
The meager level of collective immunity in Tatarstan also has a negative effect on the growth of morbidity. Back in June of this year, Realnoe Vremya found out that this indicator is lower in the republic than in all other regions of the Volga Federal District. But if at that time it was estimated at 27%, then just a week later it fell more than five times — to 4,9%.
According to the latest data from the portal “стопкоронавирус.рф”, which are now not published, as of August 12, the level of collective immunity in Tatarstan was 3,9%.
Nevertheless, as Leyla Fazleeva said, vaccination in Tatarstan is carried out as planned: up to 8 thousand are vaccinated on weekdays, and up to 5,5 thousand — on weekends. Apparently, to speed up this process and improve the epidemiological situation, it has been announced that vaccination points will appear again near four metro stations. A few days before that, nasal vaccines began to be used in Kazan.
The same vaccination option appeared in Nizhnekamsk on September 8. Besides, for the convenience of Kazan residents, a vaccination point has appeared on the basis of the 7th city hospital on Chuykova, which works at night.
According to the data of the Ministry of Healthcare of Tatarstan, which were provided to Realnoe Vremya on September 9, 2022, 2,7 million people received the first vaccine in the republic, and 2,53 million received the second. Among them, 665 thousand people over the age of 60 received the first dose of coronavirus vaccination, and the second — 487,7 thousand. Revaccination, however, does not show record results, only 458,4 thousand people used this way to protect themselves from infection.