Ginzburg proposed to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory

People who have been vaccinated against coronavirus for a long time, as well as those who have had COVID-19, lack specific immunity to new strains of infection. Alexander Gintsburg, microbiologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and scientific director of the N.F. Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told Izvestia on December 23.

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"If you were vaccinated against the first "Wuhan" strain, which was in 2020, then you have excellent immunity. It is so formed that any amount of virus that you eat or inhale is fine. But it absolutely does not protect against new strains," Ginzburg said.

The microbiologist believes that it is especially important for people at risk to be vaccinated: those over the age of 60, pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and chronic diseases. Ginzburg proposed to include coronavirus vaccination in the National Vaccination Calendar, thus making it mandatory.

As Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia, about 295.7 thousand cases of COVID-19 were registered in Russia in the first 11 months of 2025. During the week of December 8-14, the incidence increased by 4.4% (11,455 cases). The XFG Stratus gene variant has been predominant in circulation for the last 12 weeks — 96.7%. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global additional risk of this variant is assessed as low.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

New COVID-19 strains: who may need revaccination in 2026

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