St. Petersburg is preparing to become an international vaccination center

Petersburg seriously aspires to become the Russian capital of vaccine tourism. The presence of such ambitions is evidenced by the statement of the governor of the city Alexander Beglov, made after President Vladimir Putin instructed to organize paid vaccination of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation. “We are ready to fulfill the President's order and vaccinate foreigners on a paid basis. Petersburg is the only region where medical tourism is put on a systematic basis,” Alexander Beglov responded to the president’s initiative (quote from Petersburg Diary). Representatives of travel agencies and private medicine are sure that there is a demand for paid vaccination. Clinics are already recruiting staff with knowledge of English, based on the imminent arrival of foreigners.

enough power

Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that the capacity for the production of vaccines against CORONAVIRUS infection covid-19 in RUSSIA is enough to not only provide all Russians with drugs, but also vaccinate foreigners.

As RBC Petersburg found out, there are enough medical institutions in the city that are ready to provide this service to foreign citizens. “We are interested in vaccinating foreigners, as working with foreign patients is one of our priorities. Before the pandemic, we worked a lot with tourists. We have all the necessary infrastructure - an English-speaking call center, an English-speaking reception, English-speaking doctors. We cooperate with insurance, assistance and travel companies. We issue all documents, including vaccination certificates in English,” explained Alexandra Nikolaeva, Marketing DIRECTOR of the Lakhta Clinic network of medical centers.

According to her, the company is “open to receive a flow of foreign tourists for vaccination” and is ready to help them with visas. “Foreigners who want to come to Russia for vaccination are a great opportunity to support the tourism business, which is suffering losses due to the pandemic, and the image of Russia and the Russian vaccine in the world,” emphasizes Alexandra Nikolaeva.

Don't want to wait a few months

A sufficient amount of unsatisfied demand for the vaccine has accumulated in the world, representatives of the medical industry interviewed by RBC Petersburg believe. Wealthy people from Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and India do not want to stand in line for many months to be vaccinated with Moderna, Pfizer or ASTRAZENECA vaccines and are ready to come to Russia to get vaccinated with Sputnik V, the interlocutors of RBC Petersburg explained.