Moscow Accelerates Vaccinations Against Delta Variant

Russian leaders stated on July 2, 2021, they 'will not impose a new lockdown despite a rising coronavirus death toll that has reached a daily record number for four days straight,' reported Radio Free Europe. A surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant.

"Nobody wants any lockdowns. And yes, it is not up for debate," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "which is why...we must all be vaccinated as soon as possible."

Health clinics in Moscow begin offering booster vaccinations against COVID-19 on July 1st, the city's mayor said, reported Reuters. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said re-vaccination was available with any of Russia's four registered vaccines. Still, Sputnik V and the one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine would initially be used at eight clinics across Moscow, a city with over 12 million residents.

Scientists have said that protection from the Sputnik V vaccine lasts much longer than six months.