Artyom GeodakyanTASS via Getty Images
- Delivery Club launched temporary QR code tattoos to encourage and remind Russians to get vaccinated.
- Restaurant patrons in Moscow are currently required to show a QR code proving they are vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test in order to eat indoors
- Russia is currently battling a fresh wave of COVID-19, with vaccine hesitancy hampering containment.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Want to enter a restaurant in Moscow? You'll need a QR code for that.
QR codes showing proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test are currently required by the city in order to dine inside at restaurants and bars. While most people carry their QR codes on their smartphones, the food service company Delivery Club is now offering a more novel way of proving vaccination.
They teamed up with Everink Tattoo – a startup that makes temporary tattoos – to produce temporary QR code tattoos you can stick on your arm.
Each tattoo is waterproof and lasts for about two weeks. There are six designs to choose from, and the tattoos cost 590 rubles (about $8) each. One design features a floral pattern, while another offers the saying "I believe in you," the Moscow Times reported.
Delivery Club said it hopes these tattoos can highlight the importance of getting vaccinated while also giving a much-needed boost to restaurants and bars that have been hard hit by the pandemic, reported Reuters.
Tattoo wearers will still be required to show identification along with their QR code tats, in order to enter establishments, according to the Moscow Times.
Russia is currently experiencing a new wave of COVID-19 cases, with more than 171,000 cases registered this past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
At the same time, it's also struggling with a low vaccination rate due to vaccine hesitancy, as some remain skeptical of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, reported Al Jazeera.
Only around 13% of the population - or about 19 million people - has been fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins.
"With our temporary tattoos, we want to defuse the current situation a bit, and along the way diversify and make the process of presenting QR codes at city institutions more interesting," Delivery Club told RIA Novosti news agency in a statement.
Delivery Club and Everink did not respond immediately to requests for comment from Insider.