Address by Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia
For more than a year now, Russia has been living and working under pandemic conditions. We have overcome not only several waves of a new viral contagion. We have overcome a psychosis that threatened to engulf the whole of society, paralysing the will of the people. The threat of hiding in their flats for the sake of self-preservation no longer frightens citizens.
The actions of the President and the Government have helped the economy to stay afloat. The labour market is recovering; businesses are working at full capacity again. But the return of confidence must not turn into complacency. The virus is changing its shape and once again trying to do us harm.
Russian biologists have developed and are producing vaccines that are of real aid to people, helping them avoid or mitigate the severity of the disease. Vaccinations help build a collective immunity, which should reduce the harmful effects of the virus. But the success of the fight against it is only possible with our joint efforts. Russian medical institutions now offer the opportunity to be vaccinated free of charge - an opportunity denied to citizens in many other countries.
Today it is our duty to help ourselves and our country. We must not listen to back alley gossips, but to medical experts, scientists, who speak the language of facts: the salvation from the virus is mass vaccination, and today we have a lower vaccination rate than in other countries.
Get vaccinated so you can work safely.