Moscow slammed by Delta B.1.617.2 SARS2 Variant: A case for global vaccination.



All the worst concerns seem true about the Delta variant (‘Delta’ is the WHO descriptor) originating in India back in October 2020. The Delta strain with significant mutations on the parent virus DNA is generally referred to by scientists as the B.1.617.2 variant.

  • Moscow has been slammed by this beast bringing a record 9,056 new cases to the city of 12 million on Friday.
  • On Saturday, another 8,305 cases of coronavirus were recorded in Moscow, for the first time in two days dropping below 9,000.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says the highly infectious Delta variant accounts for  almost 90 per cent of new cases, which are soaring despite carefully planned and executed mitigation efforts over the past week. Mayor Sobyanin said that Moscow would limit gatherings and close the Euro 2020 fan zone outside of the Luzhniki stadium.

The WHO has said that the Delta variant has been seen in 80 countries by the third week in June.

Moscow Business sector. Moscow Business sector. Photo Credit: Dmitry Chistoprudov

According to a study reported in The Lancet, a single dose of a two part vaccine is not enough. Patients should make certain they receive two doses. Also noted from the Lancet report, the Delta variant doubles risks for hospitalisation compared with the highly dangerous Alpha variant (B.1.117) first seen in the United Kingdom

During Saturday, “the coronavirus in Moscow led to the death of 81 people. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 21,433 Muscovites have died,” according to the national COVID-19 task force.

“2,945 Patients recovered from the disease in Saturday. A total of 1 million 116,739 people were cured from COVID-19 in Moscow,” the Interfax report states.

The all-time total number of COVID-19 cases reported in Moscow as of June 20 is 1,286,570.

The federal government of the Russian Federation has warned that it may impose the model Moscow mitigations across the country according to statements on the Russian Interfax.

The federal coronavirus taskforce reported Saturday, some 17,906 new infections across the federation of Russia, more than double the daily tally from early June.

More than half of new infections across the Russian Federation are in Moscow, where cases have tripled this June thus far.

Former White House senior COVID-19 adviser, Andy Slavitt, said in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe last Thursday that the “Delta variant is like the coronavirus on steroids”. The facts on the ground bear him out.

Russian COVID-19 Data for 28 Mar 2024

Data collected and reported by: Civil Society Solidarity Partners against COVID-19


Russian Vaccine may be the best in the world. But Russians need that vaccine in their arms.

According to a spokesperson for the Kremlin, people in Moscow and across the country have been slow to get vaccinated.


A one-jab vaccine for severe sudden outbreaks has been launched by the Russian producer of Sputnik V.


Watch the video below explaining Sputnik Light