MOSCOW  — Over 100 people have died in the last three weeks in Russia of complications from flu, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said Thursday.

“As of yesterday, 107 people died including four pregnant women and eight children,” Interfax news agency quoted Skvortsova as saying.

All of the victims had not been vaccinated and did not seek medical advice in time, she said, adding that the current death toll means little as the major swine flu epidemic killed 687 people in Russia back in 2009. “Around 4,500 people died of heart attacks, 6,000 of strokes, and 1,000 were killed in road accidents in Russia over the same period,” the minister said.

However, Skvortsova said, the country is well prepared for this year’s flu outbreak and pharmacies have sufficient stocks of anti-viral drugs and protective masks. The minister also predicted the epidemic would peak in the next two weeks and peter out by the end of February.(Xinhua)…[+]