In Kazan, a round table on the issues of vaccination against coronavirus was held
On February 9, the Public Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan hosted an expert round table "Vaccination – 100 and 1 Myth About Vaccinations Against Coronavirus". Its participants were epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, doctors from the "red zone", virologists, geneticists, representatives of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan and Rospotrebnadzor of the Republic of Tatarstan, lawyers and residents of Tatarstan. In addition to experts, representatives of the anti-vaccination movement who oppose vaccination against COVID-19 were invited to the round table.
The meeting was moderated by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Leyla Fazleeva and Chairman of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan Zilya Valeeva. The format of the event involved a constructive dialogue between sides, explaining all aspects of vaccination and answering questions from citizens. Representatives of the scientific community tried to clarify the misconceptions replicated on the Internet.
Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan Vladimir Zhavoronkov told about the progress of the vaccination campaign in Tatarstan. He said that vaccination of the population against coronavirus is one of the priorities of the department: "There are already 100 vaccination centers in Tatarstan, and their number is growing. We urge the residents of the republic to take an active part in vaccination. The republic receives a sufficient amount of vaccine to provide everyone who wants to get vaccinated."
It should be noted that the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan is working with enterprises on the organization of mobile vaccination points on their territory. In the near future, it is planned to open a vaccination point in one of the shopping centers of Kazan – this will make the procedure as accessible as possible.
Experts agreed that vaccination is the only way to prevent the severe course of COVID-19. Representatives of the anti-vaccination movement, on the contrary, insisted that the new coronavirus infection is not a dangerous disease. This opinion was questioned by the chief physician of the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital named after Professor Agafonov, Marat Gataullin. The medical personnel of the hospital have been working with covid patients for exactly one year since the passengers of the Diamond Princess liner were delivered to Kazan. "Even now, when we know a lot about the coronavirus, and have already learned how to treat it, the disease can become uncontrollable. If I had such an opportunity, I would organize a tour of the hospital for "vaccine skeptics", so that they could see how severe the disease can be and how long the recovery can be," the chief physician said.
Dmitry Lopushov, chief epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan, recalled that vaccination against a new coronavirus infection is carried out free of charge for residents and exclusively voluntarily. The facts of forced vaccination should be reported to the operational headquarters of Tatarstan. At the moment, such cases are not registered on the territory of the republic.
Leyla Fazleeva thanked all the participants of the round table – doctors and the expert community. "The doctors of the Republic of Tatarstan have shown their best during the pandemic and they have to continue working on issues related to the new coronavirus infection. Each of them performs the task of preserving the life and health of the population. During the round table, various points of view were expressed, and each of them has the right to exist." The speaker urged the guests of the meeting to be restrained in their comments and not to neglect the trust of citizens in matters of vaccine prevention.