By Kostas Onisenko
“We are examining the decision that has been published,” an anonymous source from the Diocese of Moscow told the RIA news agency, referring to a request from Moscow local authorities for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of 60% of employers who come into contact with many people in the businesses of the Russian capital.
At the same time, the Russian Orthodox Church said there were no orders for compulsory vaccination of clergy in Moscow.
In particular, on Wednesday the head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) of Moscow, Elena Andreeva, decided to “ensure vaccination,” that is the vaccination 60% of employees in sectors such as trade, services, catering, medical services, culture, transport, municipal services, structures related to children.
By mid-August, 60% of these employers should have received both doses of the vaccine. According to Russian reports, the responsibility for the implementation of the decision will fall on the owners who are in charge of the specific structures.
This decision is related to the sharp deterioration of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation in Moscow.
According to the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, more than 12,000 people are being treated in the capital’s hospitals due to the COVID-19 disease. He described the situation as “dramatic.”
It is reminded that the Russian Orthodox Church said in the past vaccination as a measure of protection of the population should be voluntary and not mandatory. So far there has been no official reaction from the Moscow Patriarchate on the issue.
