Latvia plans Russian-language ads to boost vaccine rate

RIGA: Latvia's health minister on Monday said the government would boost a Russian-language information campaign on the safety of vaccines in order to improve low vaccination rates.

After visiting a hospital in the capital Riga, Daniels Pavluts said the situation was "very problematic" in Daugavpils, Latvia's second city which has a majority Russian-speaking population.

Pavluts said there was "disinformation" about vaccines in Russian-language media, as well as more global "anti-vaxx propaganda".

"To address the disinformation in Russian, we are doubling our efforts on the information campaign, everything will also be translated and available in Russian," Pavluts told AFP.

Latvia has carried out just 15,756 vaccinations -- around 0.8 percent of the population.

It has focused initially on medical personnel.

But at Daugavpils Regional Hospital, only 10 percent of staff had signed up to receive a vaccine last week out of safety concerns.

The Covid-19 infection rate is also higher in Russian-speaking areas in southern Latvia.

Covid-19 infections per 100,000 people are currently averaging out at 1,200 over 14 days in Daugavpils -- compared to 600 in Riga.

Latvia's previous health minister was sacked this month over her handling of vaccinations and the Baltic eurozone state is now setting up a vaccination task force.

The government expects mass vaccinations to start only at the end of March at the earliest.