ugc_banner

Russia records highest daily Covid deaths as people run away from vaccines

WION Web Team
Moscow, RussiaUpdated: Aug 14, 2021, 06:17 PM IST
main img
Photograph:(AFP)

Story highlights

On Saturday, Russia recorded 819 Covid deaths and 22,144 new infections in the country, taking the death toll to nearly 169,683

Russia recorded its record daily Covid-related deaths for the third consecutive day on Saturday with 819 new fatalities.

The country has been struggling to control the widespread of the Delta variant of coronavirus while the vaccination rate has not picked up.

On Saturday, Russia recorded 819 Covid deaths and 22,144 new infections in the country, taking the death toll to nearly 169,683.

The death toll of Russia is now one of the highest in Europe, and experts are warning that if the same data trend continues, Russia will record the majority of the Covid deaths in Europe.

This spike in Covid caused deaths is a direct result of vaccine hesitancy in locals in Russia. Authorities have been struggling to convince people to get vaccinated.

A recent poll by an independent organisation called Levada Centre claimed that nearly 55 per cent of Russians do not plan to get vaccinated against coronavirus ever. Till Saturday, only 32 million people have been fully vaccinated, out of a population of nearly 146 million.

To beat this mindset, the capital city, Moscow, has introduced compulsory vaccine measures in the city, as well as some other regions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly urged locals to get their vaccine shots as soon as possible to stop the spread of the new variants in the country.