Personal experience: God forbid getting sick with covid outside Moscow!

The well-known Russian economist Yakov Mirkin shared on his blog the diary entries of his close friend who lives in the near Moscow region and who had the misfortune of contracting covid. Mirkin compared these recordings with front-line chronicles, but to an even greater degree the remarks of the readers of this publication living in the Russian provinces are similar to the front-line ones:

“There is no sense of smell and taste yet. Today is the 12th day from the start of the temperature and only the 7th from the test result. There was a doctor yesterday. This is his third visit. A normal doctor, sane, but it seems to me that he is already shaking from the load. They say that there are 200 calls for 3 fairly decent micro-districts, of which two are completely new, overpopulated, and densely packed. This is nothing more than the result of the abnormal development of two potato and corn fields previously owned by the Ministry of Defense. "

“Apparently, there is not enough doctors in the local polyclinic, built in the distant Soviet times. Specialized doctors are also involved in the calls. Therapists are still on duty for those who need to extend or close the sick leave. All this is the result of lousy optimization of health care and the irrepressible greed of officials and business, who uncontrollably built up the Moscow region and Moscow. Yes, they squandered money by building up the former collective farm / departmental fields and populated all this space with people, but at the same time they did not provide the infrastructure at all”.

“In order to somehow adjust and speed up the process of providing medical care in the face of an influx of seasonal and non-seasonal ailments, telegram chats have been created in regional centers, where you can write about your problems, indicating the number of the policy and the number of the clinic. It is, of course, very convenient, but not available for lonely, non-advanced old people. It's good when there are children and grandchildren within reach, but if not? "

“All this time I was thinking why there is so little covid in the Moscow region in comparison with Moscow, provided that there is constant migration between these regions, which have long turned into one big Moskabad.

Doubt was dispelled by the answer from the medical community:

“Given the increased burden on the incidence of ARVI and Covid, a smear test by PCR is carried out according to indications and only with a doctor's prescription for certain categories of patients. Your observation is carried out in the context of home examinations - you call the doctor yourself based on the planned date of the doctor's appointment. But there are a number of studies that we conduct exclusively with your visit to the clinic (radiology). For those living together, we donate blood using the Ifa method. 65 + examination of the therapist at home. "

I would like to ask: “For what categories of patients are these? What state do you need to be in so that you can be tested not for cash, but at the expense of the contributions you paid to the CHI system? " Is it possible that a sharp rise in temperature to 38.5, which with great difficulty was brought down to 37.5 only on the 4th day, a dry cough (even if not strong), weakness is not a reason for a test in a pandemic?"

“In my case, if it were not for the independent decision to take the test at my own expense (I did not have any indications for this), the presence of my own car in order to take my diseased body to the clinic and reduce any possibility of contact with a large number of people, covid would not would have been identified at all, which means that I would have no formal restrictions on visiting stores, clinics, contacts with relatives, and so on, my children could easily attend school and, possibly, could infect others".

“And how many of those who have tempered, coughed, went to the polyclinics to register their sick leave (or maybe they just went to the doctors after the temperature dropped) and did not take the tests, simply because they did not dare to spend their hard-earned money on the test, because these money just might not have remained after paying for communal apartments, food and medicine? How many people were in contact with them? How many have they infected in stores, in transport? No test - no covid - no problem".

"We are enlarging and optimizing everything: healthcare, education, districts, cities ... We will very soon begin to reap the full benefits of enlargement, overpopulation and optimization".

“My special thanks to the doctors who work on the ground. I sincerely feel sorry for the district doctors who are put in a wild box and are trying to do something without the authority to conduct any research. They go on calls and risk their health, every day. I am generally silent about those who work in the "red zone". I only go at home wearing a mask when I poke my nose into the kitchen and the bathroom and am horrified that the doctors are wearing a mask for a whole shift”.

“I am now analyzing my behavior since the onset of the disease and I understand that nowadays you understand that our Soviet generation has the highest survival rate. We still remember how to behave in emergency situations. We can quickly mobilize our brains (well, if any) and not panic. We can kick-start our children and grandchildren so that their brains, damaged by digital gadgets, work in the right direction".

“The only thing I blame myself for is that when the temperature rose sharply on Friday evening, I did not push myself into the car and did not go to take the test. It should have been done simply earlier. Doctors now consider my covid only from the date of receiving the test, although I got sick 5 days earlier. These 5 days, it turns out, matter. The test will be repeated 5 days later”.

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In numerous comments to this diary, people shared their experiences. It turns out that in the Russian regions the situation is much worse:

- I confirm! In the Moscow region, everything is like that: they waited for an ambulance for 10 hours, having a referral for hospitalization for pneumonia, left at night to Moscow, called an ambulance there, arrived in 7 minutes!

- In the regions, it is even worse, even a paid appointment for a CT scan for December, you cannot get on the test either with symptoms or after direct contact with an infected person. Ambulances wait for 10-12 hours, there are no places in hospitals, there is a shortage of doctors. Nobody will give you a sick leave if you were just in contact. Even if there is money, there is no one to carry it. And who did not leave or fell ill, or died or hesitated to work in such conditions. Volgograd attracts students. But what to do, there really is no one to work. I looked at the prices for pulse oximeters, so in Moscow you can buy for 1500-2000, in Volgograd for 10000, there are even lower ones, but you have to look, it doesn't fit in your head, how is that?

- In the regions with doctors, as my father used to say, seams. Many left "to work" in Moscow, colleagues from Togliatti reported.

- In our Irkutsk region there is a complete collapse with the healthcare system. People had to unite and coordinate themselves, help themselves and the doctors. Officials only state their helplessness ... People threw a cry among Irkutsk residents that drivers with cars are needed in order to take doctors on calls, as it turned out that the doctor walks on foot, and with such an influx of calls to wait for the doctor - only the third day, if you're lucky.

The promotion has been going on for a week. Who wants to participate, but cannot carry, he can throw money on the card for fuels and lubricants, tea / coffee / chocolates.

- A friend from Snezhinsk fell ill along with three of her colleagues. I wanted to do a test in a private clinic where a health worker friend works. The healthcare provider's answer is: don't do it, the test will be negative. In clinics, tests are not done or offered.

A relative from Omsk got sick, called a doctor, a doctor in a "cosmonaut" suit listened, prescribed medication (antibiotic + antiviral), prescribed a sick leave, it was not offered to take a test + X-ray. There are no medicines in pharmacies, if there are, then the queues are huge ... Sick people rush to city pharmacies, increasing the number of contacts. The result of a visit to a polyclinic (in the era of digitalization, there is no connection with a polyclinic): come in 5 (!) Days, if there is no temperature, while maintaining the temperature, call a doctor.

A relative from Volgodonsk, Rostov region writes: there are announcements that there are no tests. The hospitals are overcrowded. Sent for home treatment if less than 20% of lung involvement. Droppers are prescribed, there is no one to do droppers if relatives are not trained. There are not enough medicines in the Rostov region. In the regions, the prices for the same drugs are 30-50% more expensive in comparison with Moscow (the chance to pay for expensive treatment in the regions is ten times lower than in Moscow). Apparently, there are KPIs for morbidity that are unattainable.

We hear from the screens that “every person is dear”, we believe in this with hope, when faced with reality, we understand that the entire healthcare system is now in chaos, decisions are made not in favor of a person, but in demonstrating KPI indicators. I very much sympathize with all medical workers and sick people who have become hostages of illiterate management. All forces, a speedy recovery.