Country recorded another record month of fatalities in November, with an 82% rise in deaths from all causes.
Summary
- Russia recorded more than 115,000 excess deaths during November 2021 according to official statistics published Thursday — a new record high since the start of the pandemic.
- The number takes Russia’s overall excess death count since the start of the pandemic to 929,000, according to The Moscow Times’ analysis.
- The record figure for November — equivalent to around 4,000 more fatalities a day than was recorded in the same month before the coronavirus outbreak — comes as the country faced a punishing fourth wave of the virus and nationwide vaccination rates remained low.
- The Kremlin had attempted to stem the rise of cases and hospitalizations with a week-long partial lockdown at the start of the month, but infections remained high, and measures to introduce health passes across the country have since been softened in the wake of a public backlash.
- Only around 46% of Russians have received a full course of vaccination in a campaign which has relied on the country’s flagship two-dose Sputnik V jab as well as a handful of other home-made vaccines.