COVID-19 deaths are surging in Russia, but vaccination lags

With COVID-19 deaths at an all-time high in Russia, Kremlin and public health officials are pleading with tens of millions of people to get vaccinated, but they say they aren't considering reimposing a national lockdown to try to curb the deadly fourth wave. 

According to official figures, Russia recorded nearly 30,000 cases and 957 deaths on Monday. Throughout the pandemic, the country's coronavirus task force has attributed roughly 218,000 deaths to COVID-19, but there has been continued criticism that the tally is an undercount. 

The country's statistics agency, Rosstat, publishes monthly data. According to its figures, since April 2020, there have been nearly 600,000 excess deaths and that number is climbing. 

While the virus spread is rampant, vaccination rates are lagging. Across the country, slightly less than 40 per cent of all adults are fully vaccinated, according to the Gogov, which collects vaccination statistics across the country. Slightly more than 40 per cent have one shot.

While Russia's Minister of Health acknowledges the country is in a "very tense" situation, senior Kremlin officials have been reluctant to roll out additional restrictions on a national level. And in the country's capital, municipal officials are opting for more testing sites throughout Moscow instead of introducing new restrictions or stepping up enforcement of the public health measures.  

Wearing a mask on Moscow's metro system is already mandatory, but besides an automatic recording played over the speaker systems thanking people for wearing the masks, there appears to be little enforcement. 

More than six million passengers pile onto trains or move through the city's historic stations every day, and onboard the metro cars there are plenty of people standing shoulder to shoulder, either not wearing masks or wearing them around their chins.