The Ministry of Health suggested that not everyone should be vaccinated against coronavirus, but only citizens from vulnerable categories

The Ministry of Health of Russia proposes to abandon mass vaccination against coronavirus and switch to vaccination of vulnerable categories of citizens. The corresponding draft amendments have been published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts. The “vulnerable” include, first of all, Russians who have not been ill with coronavirus for three years and have not been vaccinated. Opponents of vaccination and this time were dissatisfied with the decision of the department. They are outraged, in particular, that it is recommended to vaccinate everyone who has not been vaccinated before, including “thousands of Russians who have gone through suspension from work.”

Changes are proposed to be made to the order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 1122n dated December 6, 2021. How noted in the explanatory note, the motive was the formation of a high level of collective immunity against COVID-19 and the stabilization of the epidemiological situation associated with the spread of COVID-19 in the Russian Federation. So, for the week from July 10 to 16, 2023, according to the federal operational headquarters, 3339 new cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Russia, 1138 people were hospitalized, 4643 patients recovered. Under these conditions, the Ministry of Health considers it expedient to move from mass vaccination to protecting the most vulnerable categories of citizens.

This is, as follows from the doc:

• persons over 18 years of age who have not previously been ill and (or) not vaccinated against a new coronavirus infection;
• citizens aged 60 and over;
• with chronic diseases, including diseases of the bronchopulmonary system, tuberculosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and obesity;
• patients with primary or secondary immunodeficiencies, including HIV infection, autoimmune diseases, oncological / oncohematological diseases.

Appendix No. 3 to Order No. 1122n is supplemented by clause 15, according to which re-vaccination (revaccination) against coronavirus is carried out no earlier than one year after the previous vaccination. Until now, the Ministry of Health has recommended revaccination every six months. It is expected that the order will come into force on April 1, 2024 and will be valid until March 1, 2030.

A year ago, on July 1, 2022, Rospotrebnadzor removed almost all restrictions that were in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, except for the ban on mass gatherings. The department explained the decision by a steady decline in the incidence of coronavirus in the Russian Federation. And on May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization canceled the state of emergency that had been in effect since the announcement of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. However, the WHO still recommends getting vaccinated. The organization’s website states that the COVID-19 vaccines on the WHO Emergency Registry are safe for most people aged 18 years and over, including those already suffering from various diseases, including autoimmune disorders. Such diseases also include hypertension, diabetes, asthma, diseases of the respiratory system, liver and kidneys, as well as chronic infections at the stage of a stable and controlled course. The organization’s experts advise, for example, that immunocompromised individuals receive a booster dose one to three months after being vaccinated against COVID-19 as a priority.

However, the WHO has not recognized any of the Russian vaccines as meeting the “mandatory criteria for safety and efficacy,” although independent international studies of Sputnik V confirm its safety and efficacy at the level of American and European vaccines.

Olga Shuppo, scientific director of the network of immunorehabilitation and preventive medicine clinics Grand Clinic, calls the decision of the Russian Ministry of Health “quite timely.” According to her, a fairly high level of collective immunity has already been formed, since most of the population has been ill with the coronavirus or has been vaccinated: “Our body has adapted to the virus. In addition, he mutated and became weaker. And we have learned how to treat the coronavirus.” Ms. Schuppo notes that any vaccination is an additional burden on the immune system, which can only be justified in the event of a serious threat to health: “And the coronavirus is not such a threat now. In addition, the body must be healthy in order to properly respond to the vaccine, to develop a sufficient amount of antibodies.”

However, opponents of vaccination this time were dissatisfied with the decision of the Ministry of Health. Thus, in the VKontakte community “Free People of the North-West”, which advocates “voluntary medical interventions, against forced vaccination” (more than 13 thousand people signed), published message with criticism of the new position of the department.

Skeptical citizens consider it “strange” that the Ministry of Health recognized the “most vulnerable categories” of people who, during the years of the pandemic, have not been ill and have not been vaccinated.

It should be noted, according to a study by the Federal Research and Clinical Center of the FMBA of Russia and the VSK Insurance House, at least 48% of Russians over the past three years definitely hurt COVID-19. Moreover, 15% faced with a confirmed diagnosis several times. In addition, community activists note that vulnerable categories have become groups of people who, according to the instructions for Gam-COVID-Vak (Sputnik V), should use the vaccine with caution, since “due to lack of information, vaccination may pose a risk to them.” We are talking about autoimmune and oncological diseases, diabetes mellitus, immunodeficiencies and HIV infection. “This, according to the Ministry of Health, is “a transition from mass vaccination to vaccination of vulnerable categories.” But in fact – to a more mass one, ”the message says.

Community members were also critical “For work without discrimination” (sets as its task the protection of the employee’s right to voluntary medical interventions; 4,000 subscribers). They note that now “those who have not been ill and not vaccinated are the most vulnerable to covid, and this includes thousands of Russians who have gone through suspension from work.” According to community activist Zhanna Andreeva, despite the fact that in most regions the orders of the chief sanitary doctors on mandatory vaccination have been canceled, not all those who were suspended managed to return to work. Some employers, she notes, illegally fire employees who refuse to be vaccinated. For example, Mikhail Agapov, manager of Musa Motors JL Air LLC from Moscow, found himself in such a situation, who is suing the employer. According to Mr. Agapov, the company “fundamentally” refuses to restore his rights, “ignoring Russian legislation and the decision of the sanitary authorities of the country and Moscow.” Sociologist Mikhail Firsov, in an interview with Kommersant, suggested that the matter might no longer be in vaccination as such, but in the position of a certain type of managers who regard a group of employees who have shown integrity as disloyal. He noted the need to develop “a normal mechanism for the social rehabilitation of these people, especially against the background of the extinction of the pandemic.”

Natalya Kostarnova