Moscow Mayor opens Russia's and Europe's largest vaccination station

The largest vaccination station in Europe was opened in Moscow on the territory of the Gostiny Dvor shopping mall, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. 

According to the message posted on Sobyanin's website, the station can take up to 6,000 people a day. This is the largest vaccination centre in Moscow, Sobyanin said. 

The mayor added that the vaccination station in Moscow's iconic GUM department store on Red Square does not accommodate those who want to get vaccinated, nor is it possible to ensure social distance there due to small premises. The new vaccination station in Gostiny Dvor was opened instead of the one in GUM. 

A whole team of doctors, nurses, public services employees and volunteers will be working in the pavilion to provide visitors with a quick and comfortable vaccination. 

“It is likely that if the inflow of people will be even larger, the station will need to work for more hours, so its capacity will increase," the mayor said. 

According to Sergei Sbyanin, the incidence of coronavirus infection in Moscow decreased last week. 

Speaking at the opening of the new vaccination station in Gostiny Dvor, Sobyanin said that despite the decrease in the incidence of COVID-19, the level of hospitalizations and morbidity remains at a very high level.

Sobyanin noted that due to the difficult epidemiological situation, the need for vaccination remains extremely important. According to him, the coronavirus vaccine will allow citizens to work in peace and lead a normal lifestyle, attend public places.

The Mayor of Moscow also said that the first jab of the vaccine had been administered to three million Muscovites. 

Over the past 24 hours, as many as 24,353 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in Russia. Most infections were registered in Moscow (6,557), Moscow region (2,651) and St. Petersburg (1,828). As many as 654 people died of COVID-19 in Russia in one day.