17 October, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Every fifth resident of the Vitebsk region has already been vaccinated against influenza. This was announced today at a press conference by Vladimir Sinkevich, Chief Physician of the Vitebsk Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The population immunisation campaign in the Vitebsk region is proceeding actively. Currently, over 20% of the region's residents, or more than 253,000 people, have been covered by preventive vaccinations. Vaccination funded by the republican budget has been practically completed, and the plan for vaccination coverage funded by the regional budget has been fulfilled by 60%. The main focus is currently on increasing the pace of population immunisation funded by enterprises and organisations. Extensive information work has been launched for this purpose. This year, it is planned to vaccinate 95,000 people from this category. Approximately 22,500 of them have already been vaccinated. "Managers should remember that timely immunisation of employees is directly linked to the economic efficiency of their enterprises," emphasised Vladimir Sinkevich. It is planned to vaccinate over 3,000 citizens using their personal funds. In total, 30% of the population in the region is to be vaccinated by December 1st in the current epidemic season. Currently, the epidemiological situation in the region is assessed as controlled and manageable. -0-

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