The Russians have developed immunity to vaccination

In Russia, 78 thousand new cases of coronavirus were detected over the past week. However, Rospotrebnadzor does not report the level of collective immunity, Kommersant drew attention to. The last time data on what proportion of Russians are immune to the virus was made public at the end of last summer – 7.4%. Traditionally, this figure indicates the scale of the vaccination campaign, and the number of people wishing to be vaccinated against the background of a deteriorating epidemiological situation is now small: from 20 people a day in Crimea to 5,000 in Bashkiria. Experts with whom Kommersant spoke note that for citizens who have already been vaccinated and have been ill, the new vaccination will not change much: the absolute risks of becoming infected with super-fast omicron genovariants are high. However, for people with chronic diseases, the elderly, pregnant women and healthcare workers, vaccination can still save lives.

On Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor reported a continued increase in the incidence of COVID-19, SARS and influenza in the country: 78,000 new cases of infection were detected over the past week. At the same time, the operational headquarters for the fight against COVID-19 did not report up-to-date data on the collective immunity of Russians for more than six months, that is, the proportion of citizens immune to the virus. According to the latest published information (August 2022), population immunity has dropped to 7.4%. A year ago, in February 2022, 62% of the country’s inhabitants were immune to the coronavirus.

The vaccination campaign in the regions, Kommersant found out, during the next rise is not as active as it was a year or even a year and a half ago. According to data received from the local ministries of health, in the vast majority of subjects, only Sputnik V, the most studied Russian vaccine, can be vaccinated. Only the Ministry of Health of Tatarstan stated that the doctors of the republic have “drugs to choose from” (however, they did not specify which ones). Bashkiria turned out to be the leader in terms of vaccination rates. According to the local Ministry of Health, up to 5,000 people are vaccinated against coronavirus every day in the republic. In total, since the beginning of the year, 65.6 thousand residents of the republic have been vaccinated with the first component, 60.9 thousand people have fully completed vaccination – 2.4% of the population. According to this indicator, Bashkiria is even ahead of St. Petersburg, where there are 1 million more people. In St. Petersburg, according to the Health Committee, over 57,000 people have been vaccinated over the past month. On weekdays, an average of 2.5 thousand people are vaccinated, and this is more than on weekends. The Moscow Department of Health did not disclose the number of vaccinated people. However, they clarified that there are ten vaccination points in the city clinics in the capital (one point in the district), where you can get vaccinated by appointment. You can get vaccinated without an appointment at the Troitsk city hospital and at the vaccination point in GUM. “The number of points deployed in the city directly depends on the number of citizens applying for vaccination. At the moment, it is fully consistent with the current demand, ”Kommersant was told in the depzdrav. For comparison, on July 7, 2021, 105,000 people were vaccinated in Moscow per day – then it was possible to get vaccinated in almost every shopping center and any clinic.

In Khakassia, on average, 200-300 people are vaccinated against coronavirus per day. In the Ulyanovsk Region – about 500 people, in the Krasnodar Territory – 500-600, in the Leningrad Region – from 300 to 700, in the Crimea and Udmurtia – 20-30 people, in the Stavropol Territory 69 people were vaccinated in the last 24 hours, the second component received more 52 people.

Rospotrebnadzor reports that genovariants of the Omicron strain dominate in Russia. The Sputnik V vaccine was created for the original, Wuhan, strain of coronavirus. Molecular biologist, researcher at Moscow State University Sergei Kharitonov notes that the sub-lengths of the “omicron”, although quite different from the original version, retain a “physiological relationship” with it. This is evidenced, for example, by a similar clinical picture of the disease – symptoms and approaches to the treatment of cases of severe course. “But the new variant spreads faster, it has a shorter incubation period, and it really is more likely to leave our immunity – both natural and obtained through vaccination,” continues Mr. Kharitonov. of which it was developed was more than 90%, now it is estimated at 70%. Of course, from the point of view of the expert community, this is not enough for a modern vaccine. But for people at risk who have diabetes, obesity, heart disease, just older age and a weakened body due to some kind of injury, such protection is definitely better than nothing.

Epidemiologist, director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at the European University at St. Petersburg, Anton Barchuk, agrees that now is the time to vaccinate people with weakened immune systems due to chronic diseases, the elderly, pregnant women, and healthcare workers. In addition, in his opinion, those who have not done this before should be vaccinated. For citizens who have already been vaccinated and recovered and at the same time do not have serious health problems, a new vaccination will not greatly reduce the risk of a severe course – it is already quite low. “The new omicron variants spread much better, and it is likely that even with booster vaccinations, there are still high absolute risks of infection at times of endemic spread. Namely, this is the season of the coronavirus – we are now observing, ”explains Mr. Barchuk.

In 2021, a group of St. Petersburg scientists led by Anton Barchuk found out that the antibodies in most people who have recovered from the coronavirus persist for at least ten months. Experts also spoke about long-term, more than six months, protection after vaccination. “There is no new data yet, as it is difficult to find people who would be vaccinated and not get sick with Omicron. That is, in any case, it will be a combination, – the epidemiologist comments. – But there are other studies in the world that show that protection against a severe course – and we must now separate protection from a severe course and from the infection itself – after vaccination remains for quite a long time, and so far we do not see a trend that it disappears in people who do not have concomitant diseases and other aggravating factors. In this situation, the decision on another vaccination against coronavirus should be made by the person himself, after weighing the risks and benefits.”

Natalia Kostarnova; regional corset “Kommersant”