Russian officials acknowledged on Monday that the number of deaths in COVID-19 is in fact more than three times higher than previously reported after months of president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinPutin to receive Russian coronavirus vaccine Cold War double agent George Blake has died at 98 hostage checkpoints supporting the supposedly low mortality rate as an indicator of the country’s success in fighting the pandemic.
Like The Guardian reported, the statistical agency Rosstat said that the total number of deaths from January to November of all causes increased by 229,700 compared to the previous year.
“More than 81% of this increase in mortality during this period is due to COVID,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova, who reported a death toll of more than 186,000 Russians, The Guardian reported. The update means that Russia has the third largest number of deaths in the world, surpassed only by the US and Brazil.
Russian officials have so far confirmed more than 3 million cases and only 55,265 deaths, The Guardian said, a much smaller number than other large countries affected.
The newspaper reported that despite the increase in the number of coronaviruses, the Russian government is reluctant to order another national blockade. At his end-of-year conference, Putin said: “If we follow the rules and requirements of health regulators, then we do not need blockages.”
Moscow hopes to contain the virus through its vaccination program launched this month. Russia was the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine. The Russian-made vaccine, nicknamed Sputnik V, has shown promising results, but has been criticized by medical journals for its short clinical trials.
In early December, 68-year-old Putin said he would delay the administration of the vaccine due to a lack of research on people over 60. However, the vaccine was approved for people over 60 last weekend, The Guardian reported.