Vaccines & the curious effect of the word Mandatory
Published: 29 June 2021 ~ Is the Vaccine now Mandatory in Russia?
{*image attribution at end of article}
To learn on the same day Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed that he would track down all those who refused the vaccine and inject them in the arse that the word ‘mandatory’ had emerged in Russia relating to the vaccine was arguably not the most auspicious timing possible.
Whilst I have no difficulty imagining these measures being adopted in the UK without much, if any, opposition ~ picture hordes (yes, I said, hordes) of young men dressed only in rainbow underpants skipping, not very fast, through Nob-butts Garden Centre, hotly pursued by several masked and white-coated gentlemen (two looking suspiciously like Matt Hancock and Fauci) with their syringes in their hands ~ the thought of something similar happening here, in Russia, just does not bare arsing about!
Imagine being chased through the tangled undergrowth of the lonely Russian countryside (where, incidentally, the lupins are gorgeous at this time of year) by five burly Russian men in paramilitary uniforms; chased until you cannot go on anymore (you can, but you won’t!); and then it happens ~ one of them brings you to the ground with a rugby tackle and, before you can say Bill Gates, its pants down, vaccination administered!
Well, it probably won’t come to this after all, as, according to The Moscow Times1, the term ‘mandatory’ is defined like this:
“Though vaccination remains voluntary for Russians, service workers face losing their jobs if they decide not to have the jab.”
The same article states:
“From June 28, all Moscow cafes and restaurants will only serve customers who have been vaccinated, had Covid-19 in the past six months or present a negative test taken within the past 78 hours.”
AP News2 reported that 18 Russian regions had made vaccinations mandatory for employees in certain sectors and listed government offices, retail, health care, education, restaurants and other service industries.
Meanwhile in Kaliningrad, a local news report today states that
“in the Kaliningrad region, mandatory vaccination was announced for officials and workers in several areas – trade, catering, transport services, education. By August 20, at least 60% of employees must be vaccinated. Now in the region more than 140 thousand people have been vaccinated with the first component.”3
So, it does look like being chased around the House of Soviets is not an option. Perhaps it is time to put away those running shoes and roll your sleeves up after all!
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Image attribution
Image attribution [‘We Can Do It!’]: <a href="/ru/”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/we-can-do-it”/">We Can Do It Vectors by Vecteezy</a> [https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/98839-vector-poster-we-can-do-it]
Image attribution [pointing finger]: http://clipart-library.com/clipart/1667119.htm
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References
1. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/06/24/muscovites-flock-to-vaccination-centers-amid-mandatory-jab-push-a74325 [accessed 28 June 2021]
2. https://apnews.com/article/europe-russia-health-coronavirus-pandemic-business-42d0c14f0545371e16a360b677cb4c38 [accessed 28 June 2021]
3. https://kgd.ru/news/society/item/95771-v-centre-kaliningrada-vystroilas-ogromnaya-ochered-v-mobilnyj-punkt-vakcinacii-ot-koronavirusa
Copyright © 2018-2021 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.
Further reading:
Tracking World Vaccination with the Prickometer