In which leading countries of the world have introduced mandatory vaccination. Results Russia

Which countries have introduced universal vaccination?

Only two of the G20 countries, which include major developed and emerging economies, have introduced mandatory universal vaccination against the covid-19 CORONAVIRUS . These are Indonesia, where those who refuse to be vaccinated face a fine, as well as Saudi Arabia, where the vaccination requirement applies to all employees of public and private institutions. Although the kingdom has not formally announced the introduction of administrative fines against the unvaccinated, they will nevertheless be limited access to events, public transport, institutions and shopping centers.

“In order to combat the coronavirus and based on the recommendations of the competent authorities, a decision was made on mandatory vaccination starting from August 1, 2021 for <...> entry into any public or private institution, <...> participation in any cultural, scientific, social or recreational activities, <...> the use of public transport, ”the Saudi Ministry of the Interior said in a statement.

The G20 includes 19 countries on six continents: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, CANADA, CHINA , Mexico, Turkey, RUSSIA, Saudi Arabia, usa , France, South Africa, SOUTH KOREA, Japan. The European Union is also a member of the group. Together, the G20 countries account for about 90% of world GDP, 80% of world trade and 60% of the world's population.

Universal mandatory vaccination in Indonesia was introduced in February, but with the onset of summer, the task of accelerating the pace of vaccination has become more acute due to the increase in the incidence. “I hope that the goal of distributing 1 million doses of the vaccine across the country from today to July will become a reality,” President Joko Widodo said.

Targeted vaccination

In four more countries - India, China, Russia and Italy - national authorities or regions have already introduced mandatory vaccination for certain categories of the population or only in certain areas. As for the categories of citizens, the rules on mandatory vaccination, in particular, affected employees of medical institutions and nursing homes. In Russia, such rules apply in some regions, and in Italy they demanded that all HEALTH workers be vaccinated.

Italy is the first and so far the only country in the European Union that requires health workers to be vaccinated. The relevant law was approved by the country's parliament in May. As of June 21, out of 1.9 million healthcare workers, just over 45,000 people (2.9%) were not even vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine, which led to unpaid suspensions.

Vaccination requirements for nursing home workers are being discussed in three other countries - Australia, the UK and France. The governor of the Australian state of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, said he plans to introduce mandatory vaccination for nursing home workers. In the UK, a de facto decision on mandatory vaccination of home staff has already been made, this requirement will be in effect from autumn and will apply to England and Wales (in Scotland and Northern Ireland, decisions in the field of health care are made by regional authorities). French Health Minister Olivier Veran said the country could make it mandatory for workers in nursing homes to be vaccinated if they don't voluntarily vaccinate. “If the situation does not improve by the end of the summer, then yes, we will ask ourselves the question of

In India, mandatory vaccination regulations are in effect in the state of Gujarat. They concern, first of all, employees of a business that involves interaction with people. In addition, the Gujarat University of Technology has said that students will not be allowed to take exams next winter unless they are vaccinated.

In China, compulsory vaccination was introduced in early June in the city of Ruili, with a population of 140,000, due to the risk of a new cluster of infections. The media also reported on the tacit policy of the Chinese regional authorities to force citizens to get vaccinated. However, the central authorities warned the regions against trying to force the Chinese to be vaccinated. “In some places, decisions were made that were inappropriate, without regard to the context and preferences of citizens, or an approach in which vaccination was necessary for everyone. This needs to be corrected,” said Mi Feng , HEAD of China ’s National Health Commission .

As in India, in some Russian regions, mandatory vaccination applies not only to medical staff, but also to civil servants and workers in industries that involve interaction with clients. This is the sector of wholesale and retail trade, education, healthcare and social services, hotel and restaurant business, etc. In total, mandatory vaccination against coronavirus was introduced in more than ten regions, including Moscow, Kaliningrad and Sakhalin. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to recognize such vaccination rules as coercion. According to him, a person who falls under the mandatory vaccination requirement can change jobs. “We have already said that if a Muscovite works in the service sector and he must be vaccinated, and he made a decision for himself not to vaccinate, he just needs to stop working in the service industry. And if he wants, he will look for a job in another place, which is not connected with those areas where vaccination is mandatory,” he explained.

Two more countries - the United States and Canada - have introduced measures to encourage healthcare workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but they cannot be equated with government measures on mandatory vaccination. In America, hospitals in some states, in particular in Texas, require staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, threatening those with sanctions up to and including dismissal. At the same time, the introduction of such measures is the prerogative of the leadership of the hospitals themselves. Neither the states nor the US federal authorities have introduced vaccination requirements. When medical workers in Texas tried to challenge their employers' demands for vaccinations, the state COURT sided with the hospitals. Several other states, including Arkansas, Florida, Montana and Oklahoma, are banning employers from requiring employees to get vaccinated. South Carolina also introduced a ban on the use of the "vaccine passport". The governor has given the power to determine whether a child wears a mask at school to parents, not schools.

As for Canada, in the province of Quebec, authorities have urged some healthcare workers to get vaccinated due to an increase in cases of COVID-19 infection. However, it cannot be called mandatory vaccination, since the medical staff still has alternatives to vaccination. If a healthcare worker refuses to be vaccinated, they can present three negative tests for coronavirus per week or be transferred to another position where the risks of infecting others will be lower.

Vaccine outsiders

As of June 22, Canada is the leader in the rate of vaccination among the G20 countries. There, 66% of citizens received at least one share of the vaccine. In second place is the UK (64%), the third is the United States (53.1%), the fourth is Italy (53%), and the fifth is Germany (51.2%). In four of these five countries, the prevalence rate, which measures how many people, on average, one infected person manages to infect before being isolated, is less than one. The exception is the United Kingdom, where there is now a surge in incidence, and the prevalence rate is 1.32.

Among the countries where the vaccination campaign is most intensive are China (1.54 doses sold per 100 people), Canada (1.25), Turkey (0.94), Japan (0.94) and Germany (0 ,94), follows from the data of the statistical portal Our World in Data as of June 25. The lowest rate of vaccine doses sold per day per 100 people is in Russia (0.32), the USA (0.22), Indonesia (0.20) and South Africa (0.13).

The top three outsiders in terms of the share of those vaccinated are Russia (13.6%), Indonesia (8.8%) and South Africa (3.8%). Against this background, the authorities in Moscow and Jakarta took measures to actively encourage citizens to get vaccinated. At the end of May, Vladimir Putin argued that everyone should make the decision to vaccinate themselves. However, later, due to outbreaks of an increase in the incidence of the disease, the regions began to oblige employers and government agencies to take measures to vaccinate employees.

In Indonesia, the authorities announced mandatory country-wide vaccinations back in February, and over the past months have been working to accelerate the pace of vaccinations. One of the problems is the lack of vaccines. Indonesia has contracted 265 million vaccines, according to the Duke Global Health Innovation Center at Duke University in the US, but so far has received only about 100 million out of a population of 270 million.

The third "outsider" - South Africa - has not yet taken strict measures obliging citizens to be vaccinated. At the same time, the government has already asked businesses to analyze the situation and determine whether they need to carry out mandatory vaccination. If the enterprise declares the need for vaccination, then its management must monitor the vaccination of employees. However, dismissal of those who refuse vaccination does not threaten. Company management will either have to try to convince employees or change their working conditions in such a way as to minimize the risk of infection.

In many countries where there is no mandatory vaccination, measures have been introduced to encourage the population to be vaccinated. So, in South Korea, those who have administered two doses of the vaccine can walk down the street without a mask, as well as freely visit religious institutions. In Germany, those vaccinated against COVID-19 or who have had the virus were exempted from social restrictions that impose a ban on mass gatherings or the use of certain types of services (for example, hairdressers). In addition, curfews will not be applied to those who have been vaccinated and who have been ill if it is introduced when the epidemiological situation worsens.