Mikhail Mishustin: “We have reached a very important phase in countering the coronavirus infection by beginning the large-scale vaccination of our citizens all over the country. To carry out the campaign effectively, we have compiled a schedule for supplying the regions with the vaccines. The Government has received logistics certificates of vaccination readiness from all 85 regions of the country.”
Government Coordination Council meeting on controlling the incidence of the novel coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
We have reached a very important phase in countering the coronavirus infection by beginning the large-scale vaccination of our citizens all over the country. To carry out the campaign effectively, we have compiled a schedule for supplying the regions with the vaccines. The Government has received logistics certificates of vaccination readiness from all 85 regions of the country.
The Healthcare Ministry has put together a vaccine distribution plan for deliveries to the regions in the next three months. It is important for this work to run smoothly. The vaccine manufacturers will have to report to the Healthcare Ministry every week on the remaining vaccines. The ministry will distribute it among the regions in the next two days depending on the requirements.
The Government has extended the provision of free medications for the people who are sick with the coronavirus and are being treated at home under doctors’ supervision. Now these people are the majority. The Government has already allocated to the regions of the Russian Federation over 5 billion roubles for the purchase of the necessary medications. We will send them another 2.8 billion for this purpose. The decision has already been made.
Federal funds will make it possible to provide medications for at least 350,000 coronavirus patients. It is very important for all of them to receive the required medicines on time. I’d like to ask the regional authorities to closely monitor this.
The entire healthcare system must rally all their efforts and resources to continue fighting the spread of the coronavirus. That said, patients with other serious diseases also need more attention now. First of all, these are children with disabilities. The Government has decided to expand the list of special nutritional care products that children with rare diseases need. In the next year, the list will gain 11 new products to include 86 items. The federal budget is paying for the purchase of these products. A disabled child will receive them free of charge based on a prescription issued by an attending physician.
We will continue taking other measures to make medical aid more accessible for people regardless of where they live. The personnel shortage is particularly acute in rural areas and remote regions. Therefore, we will keep encouraging people to move there, including paramedics.
By the Government’s decision, starting next January, relocation allowances will be paid to the midwives and nurses who move to work in medical and obstetrical stations in rural areas or towns with a population of up to 50,000 people. These allowances will be the same as for paramedics. They will amount to one million roubles for those moving to the Far East, the Extreme North or the Arctic. Those who choose to move to other remote or difficult-to-access territories will be paid 750,000 roubles. About half a million roubles will be given to those who go to small localities in other regions of the country.
Such incentives will help us cope with the personnel shortage, make medical care more accessible in rural areas and support medical workers during the spread of the infection.
