Turkish tourism agencies organize vaccination trips to Russia

Turkish tourism agencies have started to organize tours to Russia for anyone who wishes to receive the Sputnik V vaccine, the daily Hürriyet reported on April 1. One tourism agency director said that they schedule touristic activities around the inoculations at a Moscow clinic.

Thursday April 01 2021 02:27 pm

Duvar English

Turkish tourism agencies have been organizing tours to Russia for anyone who wishes to receive the Sputnik vaccine, the daily Hürriyet reported on April 1.

"We made a deal with a clinic in Moscow. A tour of the city, lodging, plane tickets and the vaccine cost a total of 1,099 Euros," one agency operator said.

Recipients of the vaccine also get an immunization record card, the tour operator noted, adding that the tour includes trips for both doses of the vaccine, with two nights' lodging at each visit to Moscow.

"You get the vaccine immediately upon landing to make sure that you're in town for at least 24 hours in case you experience any side effects," the tour operator noted.

The inoculations are followed by a tour of the Kremlin, the underground stations and a visit to the gravesite of iconic Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet, who was buried in Moscow as he died in exile.

The tour operator added that there are no laws that deem such health tourism illegal, but that the only reason foreign nationals are able to get inoculated in this case is because the operators have a deal with the clinic.