Instead of an injection: Russia lacks a vaccine against rotavirus infection
Parents of children who are less than eight months old complain that they cannot vaccinate their children against rotavirus infection. Such a vaccine is not included in the national calendar, so regions and private clinics purchase it at their discretion. But in eight regions of Russia, vaccination cannot be done even in private clinics, and in Moscow, parents are trying to find public and private medical organizations where there are still remnants. The reason is the lower volume of drug supplies, Izvestia was convinced.
Where there is no vaccine
At least in eight regions of Russia, parents complain that they cannot vaccinate their babies against rotavirus infection, Izvestia found out. There is little or no drug in both public and private medical organizations in the Volgograd, Voronezh, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Chelyabinsk regions, as well as in Tatarstan, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk territories. These are the main regions where the editors found the most questions from parents about the availability of vaccines in any medical institution.
Currently, it is not included in the national calendar of preventive vaccinations, so the regions have no obligation to purchase it. Nevertheless, the most affluent subjects still purchase the drug due to the severity of the disease: rotavirus is especially dangerous for young children, as it causes severe dehydration, which in severe cases can lead to death.
It is extremely important to get vaccinated between one and a half and eight months, said Andrey Stepanov, Chief pediatrician at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.
— In infants and children of the first year of life, the disease is more severe than in those whose immunity has already been formed. Infants are more vulnerable to dehydration and intoxication," the doctor explained. — Among the possible dangers of rotavirus infection for young children are vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies due to diarrhea and vomiting, seizures and other neurological consequences.
Alla, a resident of the Krasnodar Territory who gave birth in June 2025, told Izvestia that she had not been able to get vaccinated in her region since the summer.
— I did not find the drug in the region. As a result, I flew with the child to Moscow, where the vaccine was in a private clinic," she said.
At the same time, not every city polyclinic in Moscow has a vaccine, although the region buys the drug from its own budget.
— We have been waiting for the vaccine for a month, — said Natalia, a resident of Moscow. — The district doctor says that she is not there, and cannot give the exact time of her appearance.
Anastasia, another resident of the capital, also confirmed that she had not been able to vaccinate her child at the city polyclinic since the end of the summer.
— As a matter of principle, I did not apply to private clinics. I believe that if the vaccine is provided for free, then you need to get it for free," she stressed.
However, the press service of the Moscow Department of Health denied the problem to Izvestia.
—The Rota-V-Aid drug is available in all children's clinics under the department's jurisdiction," Izvestia was informed in response to a request.
The editorial board contacted several city polyclinics, and not all of them have vaccinations.
— There is a vaccine today, but not tomorrow. I can't give you the exact information on its availability," one of the medical organizations said.
And in a number of regions, where Izvestia asked to know if there was a drug, they replied that they did not buy it, but it could be available in private medical organizations. This is how, for example, the clinics in the Ryazan and Voronezh regions responded.
At the same time, doctors recommend that parents try to complete the course of vaccination — for rotavirus infection, these are three injections of the drug with an interval of one month.
— Even if there are interruptions with the vaccine and the intervals between its administration are more than a month, I recommend that the immunization be completed, — said Andrey Stepanov.
Izvestia sent requests to the regional Ministries of Health, the territorial departments of Roszdravnadzor and the central office of the department with a request to clarify how much vaccine was supplied to polyclinics and private clinics this year and 2024.
Earlier, Izvestia wrote about the shortage of drugs for patients with kidney diseases in ten regions. Roszdravnadzor and the Prosecutor General's Office have begun inspections.
How many drugs are on the market
In Russia, the Indian-made Rota-V-Aid drug is used for vaccination against rotavirus infection. Earlier, the RotaTec drug from the American pharmaceutical company MSD was also available on the market, Nikolai Bespalov, executive director of RNC Pharma, reminded Izvestia. But the last time it was shipped was in August 2023. Thus, now Rota-V-Aid remains the only vaccine against rotavirus infection available in the country.
Both last year and this year, the volume of its purchases for state medical institutions was less than planned, Izvestia found out. So, according to the analytical company Headway Company, in 2024 they were going to buy about 386 thousand doses (according to the announced auctions), but in fact they purchased 331.9 thousand.
In January–October 2025, almost half as many were purchased — so far only 172 thousand doses.
The Russian company Pharm Aid, the holder of the registration certificate for the drug produced by the Indian Serum Institute of India, told Izvestia that they were supplying Rota—V-Aid to all regions, but in some of them only commercial vaccine centers were purchasing it. The company did not specify which entities it was talking about.
At the same time, they clarified that in total, the company supplied 525 thousand doses to both public and private medical institutions.
The pharmaceutical company reported that they are working on creating their own production complex on the border of the Moscow and Kaluga regions in an industrial park, on the basis of which Rota-V-Aid vaccines will be produced. But the release date was not announced.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
