Question of the day: how to vaccinate a foreigner in Russia?

Irina Mishina

The reason for the article was a completely life situation. A cleaning lady from Ukraine, who has been living and working in the Moscow region for 15 years, was unable to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The woman specially arrived at the Evropeyskiy shopping center near the Kievsky railway station (they have been injecting everyone there for a couple of months already) and was refused. "We do vaccinations only with a Russian passport!" - said the doctor on duty. Although she also clarified that in February non-citizens of the Russian Federation could also protect themselves from the virus.

So what's up?

It turned out that massive coronavirus infections among migrants have already led to raids in Moscow and the region: Interior Ministry officers are conducting raids on their hostels. Recently, there have been reports that thousands of migrants in Moscow are falling ill with COVID-19, but they continue to work and do not call doctors because of their illegal status and fear of losing income in quarantine. According to the deputy head of the Federation of Migrants of Russia and political scientist Mais Kurbanov, almost everyone among the migrants fell ill, especially employees of grocery stores and markets in Moscow.

“The statistics that appear on television today do not correspond to reality. For example, many migrants in the markets, in the grocery ones got sick, they were moved on their feet. There have even been cases that people took tests that showed they had antibodies. We can say that almost everyone has been ill. Because it is impossible to maintain social distance in the markets. Therefore, naturally, if one fell ill, 20-30 people who work nearby also fell ill, ” said Mais Kurbanov.

There is only one way to avoid infection among migrants - to get vaccinated. But how? After all, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova , as you know, said that foreigners living in Russia would not be vaccinated against coronavirus. “Today the main task is to cover the maximum number of Russian citizens living in the Russian Federation ... Still, there should be a priority, we have defined it in the state, and we are following it,” the official said.

State Duma deputy, former chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko also spoke out against the vaccination of foreigners. He believes that any vaccination is prescribed based on the patient's state of health. In the case of citizens of other countries, it is not possible to collect an anamnesis.

What should foreign citizens do?

We called the hotline for COVID-19 at a single federal number 122. The polite operator explained that foreign citizens who have a registration in Moscow, a residence permit and a compulsory health insurance policy, like Russians, can freely get a free vaccination. If there is an attachment to a specific clinic, you can make an appointment for vaccination online or by phone. If there is no such attachment, then you need to choose a convenient clinic for yourself from those that participate in the mass vaccination program. You can find their list and phone numbers on the mos.ru website. The operator emphasized several times that an MHI policy is required for vaccination: this medical service is paid for by insurance companies. Just a residence permit or patent for vaccination is not enough. It is possible to get vaccinated at the vaccination points at Shopping Centers only upon presentation of the compulsory medical insurance policy and passport.

"NI" also asked the Moscow Department of Health for clarification. “This issue is supervised by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. An unconditional priority for the Ministry of Health of Russia is the vaccination of Russian citizens, but citizens of foreign countries who have a temporary residence permit or a residence permit in Russia, as well as a compulsory medical insurance policy, can also be vaccinated, ”the Moscow DZM explained. The Ministry of Health of Russia confirmed this information to us, adding: "In the points that are subordinate to the Moscow Department of Health, vaccination is carried out only free of charge".

What about someone who, for whatever reason, does not have a compulsory medical insurance policy?

First, don't despair. As it turned out, in order to receive the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for free, one does not even have to live permanently in Russia. In the main department store of the country - GUM on Red Square, the Vaccination Center has been operating since mid-January . It is located on the 3rd floor, on the 1st line. There you can get the Russian vaccine without an appointment and free of charge. After that, you will even be offered the department store's signature ice cream, also for free. However, there is one caveat: this method of vaccination does not provide the QR code required for international travel.

Of course, you can also get vaccinated for a fee in Moscow. Some private laboratories offer such services, and the cost of the vaccination includes the appointment of a general practitioner.

In total, about 105 thousand people a day are vaccinated against coronavirus in Russia today . At this rate, 50% of the population will be vaccinated only after 636 days . But experts are happy with these numbers, because each vaccine contributes to the development of herd immunity.

True, none of this was told to our cleaning lady in the Evropeyskiy shopping center, but was simply shown at the door.

So the salvation of those drowning in "hospitable" Russia is the work of the drowning themselves.

You have to be more competent, gentlemen, migrants! And before you go for the vaccination, ring a dozen phones and google the topic!