Russia cracks down on anti-vaxxer disinformation; inoculation campaign lags behind

Russia cracks down on anti-vaxxer disinformation as inoculation push lags behind Russian authorities said on Wednesday they were scouring social networks and media websites to find people spreading false claims about the dangers of COVID-19 vaccination, the latest in a series of measures to invigorate sluggish inoculation rates. Gleb Stolyarov Reuters

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) -    ...

Russia's daily coronavirus-related deaths are near record highs after a surge in cases, and authorities say the level of collective immunity, which includes those who are vaccinated or have recovered from the virus, is just above 50%.

State healthcare regulator Roszdravnadzor said it had instructed its regional branches to report people - including medical professionals - who "deliberately spread false information about the dangers of vaccination".

Roszdravnadzor told Reuters it had already reported more than 30 anti-vaxxers, who if convicted could face up to five years in prison. ...