In Armenia, why are 15 percent more vaccinated? | | Coronavirus Plague News

Two months later Armenia imposed strict COVID-19 restrictions that made the vaccine useful in the midst of the death toll, daily numbers are very low, but the country still struggles with a strong vaccination team.

The newly reported cases remain more than 500 per day but have dropped from 2,000 by the end of October.

About 15 percent of people now receive double the vaccine, compared to five percent when new vaccines were introduced on October 1.

However, Armenia still has the lowest vaccination rate in the Caucasus, with mortality from coronavirus at around 30 per day – a figure estimated at only three million people. It has one of the highest mortality rates worldwide, according to the Our World in Data page.

Under the new rules, government employees and most unregistered organizations are required to undergo PCR testing twice a month at their own expense, and the cost is about $ 20 each time – more than that considering the monthly salary is less than $ 400.

However, the recent revision of these rules means that PCR tests should be taken weekly. From January 1 health certificate will need to be displayed to replace traditional and recreational areas.

‘Vaccination of vaccination tarnishes in Armenia’

Dr Gayane Sahakyan, who oversees the vaccination campaign in Armenia, says Armenia wants 50 percent of the population to be vaccinated by the end of the year.

However, he also said that the false and political prevalence of the issue continues to exacerbate the mistrust of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Suspicion of the vaccine has a long history in Armenia, with a little politics. If a political party wants to oppose the government they use the Vaccine and COVID-19 is no different,” said Dr Sahakyan.

“The biggest concern for the people is safety and efficiency because it is a new vaccine. Some think it is new, others it is a global tool to improve the population. In Armenia, what is new here is that political parties are now using doctors to deliver this message. ”

According to local journalists, doctors and medical professionals have been instrumental in spreading false information about the safety and responsibility of COVID-19 DISEASES vaccine.

One such doctor, sex therapist Samvel Grigoryan, has tried to justify the theory of the epidemic, claiming that the vaccine was based on genetic engineering and could put it at risk for reproductive health.

The US Center for Disease Control says there is no evidence that the new COVID-19 vaccine causes infertility.

Grigoryan has been critical of the Ministry of Health since he was fired as director of the HIV Center in 2020, media.am said.

He and other critical doctors are allied with trials such as Free Will, a group set up by right-wing politicians to deal with vaccine trials.

Dr Sahakyan said that Sinopharm is more reliable in Armenia than any other vaccine, such as AstraZeneca, as people believe its side effects are minor.

At the end of November, Poland donated 200,000 AstraZeneca shots to the country to help control and receive a warm vaccine. However, as British vaccines, as well as other Western-made jabs such as Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, are not relied upon by locals, many go to vaccinate visitors from countries like Iran, says Dr Sahakyan..

‘We did not have all the facts’

Armenian vaccine development is hampered by health concerns among the elderly and declining last year. war and Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.

The stress caused by border disputes and insecurity has made residents of the region less interested in the epidemic.

Many Armenian citizens are divided over what is happening now, claiming that it is dangerous or not enough to address the threat of death.

Hasmik Sargsyan, 55, a teacher in rural Aragatsotn, said it had been difficult to translate fiction, while the government was doing little to address the concerns of the people.

“The information that the government provides through TV and the internet is limited and difficult to understand,” he said.

The government of Armenia hopes that by the end of 2021, about 50 percent of the population will be vaccinated. [File: Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via Reuters]

Sargsyan, who was on COVID-19 in August, has not received the vaccine but is planning to get sick in the coming days, relying on his children to guide them where they can get it.

“Some doctors in our hospitals are very concerned about the vaccine, while the authorities tell us to trust the doctors. There are rumors of side effects everywhere and we have a lot of questions, but no one is ready to give answers. It is difficult to distinguish between the reliable and the most sensitive information, ”he said.

Mariam Ghazaryan, 24, who works as a store assistant at one of Yerevan’s largest bookstores, says people do not respect COVID-19 restrictions such as wearing masks, putting her at risk every day.

“I meet about 400 to 500 people in the store a day and I ask many of them to wear a mask. Young people are the most careless; every time I ask them they think I don’t care. Many do not believe that COVID-19 exists or is just a game,” he said.

Ghazaryan re-tested COVID-19 earlier this year but received a Moderna vaccine. He also mentioned that little progress has been made in ensuring that people adhere to COVID-19 in the community.

“I personally do not think there is anything wrong with vaccination, but the government’s incentives have not been fulfilled as it should be.