Deputy Health Minister Gevorg Simonian said the Armenian Ministry of Health is considering taking the harsh measure as part of its efforts to boost the very slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the country of about 3 million.
According to the ministry, just over 344,000 people received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and only 170,212 of them were fully vaccinated as of October 10. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian deplored these “very bad” numbers last week and said relevant authorities must rely on their “administrative levers” more heavily to speed up the vaccination process.
The authorities had already obligated all public and private sector employees to get inoculated or take coronavirus tests twice a month at their own expense, a requirement effective from October 1. Health Minister Anahit Avanesian revealed on Monday they could also introduce a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to cultural and leisure venues.
Thanks to government funding, Armenia’s hospitals have treated all COVID-19 patients free of charge since the start of the pandemic. The government claims to have spent over $80 million for that purpose.
Simonian said that forcing infected anti-vaxxers to cover their hospital expenses, worth an estimated 800,000 drams ($1,660) per person, would enable the government to cut the funding and spend more on subsidizing treatment of other serious illnesses.
Davit Melik-Nubarian, an independent health expert, spoke out against the possible measure, saying that it would result in fewer hospitalizations and more deaths. He said the government should instead do more to explain the benefits of vaccination to skeptical people.
Melik-Nubarian cited a recent opinion indicating that only 7 percent of Armenians categorically refuse to take vaccines. “Others are ready to change, in one way or another, their attitudes if they get answers to their questions,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Coronavirus infections in Armenia have steadily grown since June not least because of the authorities’ lax enforcement of mandatory mask wearing in indoor public spaces and other sanitary rules.
According to the Ministry of Health, 1,589 people tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, the largest single-day number of cases recorded this year. The ministry also reported on Thursday morning 29 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the past day.
Officials warned that Armenian hospitals are running out of vacant beds for COVID-19 patients.