The President is Engaged in Tourism and Meaningless Interviews, While the Government Talks Only About Vaccination

The pandemic situation in Armenia is catastrophic. If we take the figures relatively, we are probably among the worst in terms of infected, deaths, and vaccinated individuals per 100,000 people. This was stated by former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan on his Facebook page.

"The number of infected people in Armenia is 2.95 times higher than the world average, the number of deaths is 3 times higher, while the number of vaccinated individuals is 5.8 times lower. Such a catastrophic pandemic situation requires systemic measures. Meanwhile, the President is busy with tourism and meaningless interviews, and the Government is discussing vaccination without any actionable plan. The attitude towards unvaccinated individuals has taken on shades of state fascism. Let me be clear: vaccination has no alternative, and at this level of medical development in the world, it is the only solution. But does this mean that the government has no other actions to take? Of course not. Look at Israel or Serbia. The entire population is vaccinated. So what? In Serbia, 6,000 people get infected daily, in Israel, 1,300 people. The respective death tolls are 50-55 and 15-20 people.

Clearly, the mortality rate significantly decreases with vaccination. Now, who said that there are no other measures apart from vaccination (or alongside it)? First, a partial lockdown should be declared. At least close public places, restaurants, and cafes. We must stop accepting tourists from abroad. Finally, we should regulate the pharmaceutical market, ensuring everyone wears masks. The calculations show that COVID treatment costs a citizen 300,000 to 600,000 AMD. Yes, if one is lucky and falls ill, they receive free treatment for a few days. But still, a PCR test costs at least 40,000 AMD, while tests and antibodies cost around 10,000 AMD each, plus the medications. Before our eyes, our nation is being devastated, as people are dying without money for treatment," Bagratyan wrote.