The Ministry of Industry and Trade spoke about the “unaccounted for lessons” with oxygen for hospitals

The autumn rise in coronavirus cases “already creates problems in some regions, even with all the work we are doing.” This was reported to RBC in the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Problems, in particular, mean a small supply of medical oxygen in certain regions. In which ones - the press service of the department did not disclose. “Unfortunately, such issues in the regions are often caused by low rates of vaccination of the population, lack of containers for storing and producing oxygen, and lack of delivery vehicles,” the ministry explained.

At the end of June, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade "to take measures to form in medical organizations providing assistance to people with a new coronavirus infection or suspected of it, the necessary supply of oxygen."

In July, a group was created at the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the operational coordination of oxygen supplies with the involvement of its key producers, including those from related industries. It conducts daily monitoring (twice a day) of the provision of subjects with medical oxygen and redistributes the available additional volumes in favor of those regions where there is an additional need for it. Russian subjects provide information to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the situation with oxygen supplies, RBC was told in the press service of the Ministry of Health.

How can the medical oxygen problem be solved?

“Some regions did not take into account the lessons of previous waves of the pandemic and did not take sufficient measures, although they were repeatedly warned by the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the need to take them in connection with a possible outbreak of the incidence of a new coronavirus infection,” the ministry’s representative notes. According to him, "in order to save people's lives, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is ready to continue to actively work with industrial enterprises to transfer oxygen for medical needs, while risking disrupting production deadlines at the enterprises themselves." He does not specify the details of this "work".