ONMedU warns politicians against spreading misinformation and manipulation in favour of their own ratings

ONMedU strongly condemns the actions of the candidate for mayor of Odessa Kalinchuk regarding the dissemination of false information and publicity on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, in the run-up to the local elections, misinformation, distortion of facts and outright manipulation of public opinion by some politicians, who are thus trying to raise their own ratings, have become more frequent in the information field. Odessa National Medical University (ONMedU) strongly condemns such methods of fighting for the preference of voters.
As a result, Serhiy Kalynchuk, a candidate for mayor of Odessa from the “For the Future” party, is spreading unreliable information about ONMedU and baseless accusations against our staff as part of his own election campaign. The candidate uses the most painful topic for Odesa residents and all citizens of Ukraine – the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already taken the lives of thousands of our compatriots.
Mr. Kalinchuk accused ONMedU administration of “sabotaging” the work of the university clinic and allegedly deliberately “closing” medical facilities for patients.
We inform the mayoral candidate and his election headquarters about the following. The decision to admit (or not) patients with COVID-19 to medical institutions is the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, not ONMedU. For our part, we strictly follow the orders of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and take all necessary measures in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine of March 13, 2020 № 87/2020 “On the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of March 13, 2020” ensuring national security in the conditions of an outbreak of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 “, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 11.03.2020 №211” On prevention of the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 -2 ». According to the instructions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the clinics resumed providing emergency care to Odessa residents in mid-September this year. Therefore, the information disseminated by the candidate that ONMedU had stopped the work of university clinics or voluntarily refused to accept patients is not true.
We also strongly refute the candidate’s accusation that ONMedU staff “did not offer help to the sick.” It will be recalled that in April 2020, the Academic Council of ONMedU initiated the transfer of laboratory equipment and reagents for PCR testing for the presence of COVID-19 virus to the state institution “Odessa Regional Laboratory Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”. Within the limits of our powers and orders of the Ministry of Health and the Cabinet of Ministers, we make every effort to help Odessa cope with the pandemic and do everything in our power to do so.
The administration and the team of thousands of ONMedU demand that Serhiy Kalynchuk and other candidates stop spreading false information and manipulating public opinion, in particular by using COVID-19. We regard such actions as extremely cynical and immoral. We demand from Mr. Kalynchuk, his staff and the For the Future party in general to refute false information about ONMedU and refrain from spreading it in the future. Otherwise, we reserve the right to sue for protection of honor, dignity and business reputation.
Acting rector, Ruslan Vastyanov