Immunization on Red Square: Moscow to offer Covid-19 vaccination directly across from Kremlin in iconic GUM department store

With Moscow continuing to roll out its mass Covid-19 vaccination program, Russia may be opening the world's most beautiful inoculation center. From next week, city residents will be able to be immunized right on Red Square.

That's according to Anastasia Rakova, Moscow's deputy mayor, who announced that new vaccination sites will be set up in multiple locations around the city, most of which are shopping centers.

“Now it is extremely important that as many people as possible can get vaccinated against coronavirus,” Rakova said, according to news agency TASS. “To make the process more convenient, we decided to organize mobile vaccination points in popular public places. The first six will open next week, on January 20.”

One of the shopping centers selected is GUM, the picturesque department store on Red Square, opposite the Kremlin. The building was completed in 1893 and has four floors of stores, including the likes of Dior, Gucci, and Prada, as well as Russian label Bosco.

As Moscow continues to expand the availability of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, those who live near newly opened locations will receive text messages with invitations to get the shot.

Large-scale immunization began in the Russian capital in the first week of December, initially for at-risk groups, such as teachers, nurses, and those with pre-existing conditions. Week-by-week, the eligibility list has expanded and will soon include everyone. On January 13, President Vladimir Putin announced the imminent start of nationwide mass vaccination.

According to official data, 882,962 Muscovites have tested positive for Covid-19. That's about a quarter of Russia's overall recorded infections, despite the city only having around 10 percent of the country's population.

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