MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s reputation in August for being the first country to authorize a coronavirus vaccine led to skepticism at the time due to its inadequate testing. Six months later, as demand for the Sputnik V vaccine grows, experts are once again asking questions – this time about whether Moscow can keep up with all the orders from the countries it wants.
Slovakia received 200,000 doses on March 1, although the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s pharmaceutical regulator, only began reviewing its use on Thursday. in a fast process. The president of the hard-hit Czech Republic said he had written directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to get a stock. Millions of doses are expected by countries in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East in a wave of Russian vaccination diplomacy.
“Sputnik V continues to conquer Europe with confidence,” anchor Olga Skabeyeva stated on the Russian state television channel.
Dmitry Kiselev, the network’s leading anchor in the Kremlin, stumbled upon the hyperbole last month, shocking: “Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, is the best in the world.”
State TV channels have extensively discussed the export of vaccines, with praise from abroad for Russia and ongoing segments about the problems countries have with Western vaccines.
Earlier criticism of Sputnik V was blunted by a report in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet which states that large-scale tests show that it is safe, with an efficiency rate of 91% against the virus.
It could help revamp the image of Russia into one of a scientific, technological and benevolent force, especially as other countries are experiencing shortages of COVID-19 vaccines as richer countries pick up Western-made versions or manufacturers struggle with limited production capacity. .
“The fact that Russia is one of five countries that could develop a vaccine quickly … enables Moscow to present itself as a high-tech power of knowledge rather than a deteriorating petrol pump,” said Vladimir Frolov, an analyst at foreign affairs, said.
Some experts believe that promoting the use of vaccines from China and Russia – which have not yet been as popular as those from the West – could provide a faster way to increase global supply. Others note that Russia wants to achieve geopolitical points.
“Putin is using (the vaccine) to reinforce a highly polluted image of Russia’s scientific and technological skills,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. said. “He uses it for geostrategic purposes in areas where Russia wants spheres of influence.”
Whether Russia can deliver is another question. China has supplied millions of doses to other countries, but for now production of Sputnik V appears to be much lower than demand.
“They are succeeding beyond their wildest dreams in terms of the fact that this vaccine is a viable, marketable product,” said Judy Twigg, a professor of political science specializing in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University. “They have made all these explicit and implicit promises to people inside and outside Russia about access to this product which is now unexpectedly amazing. And now they are stuck trying, scrambling and trying to figure out how to keep all those promises. ‘
Russia must also take care of itself. Authorities have announced plans to vaccinate 60% of adults, or about 68 million people, by June.
The domestic rollout in Russia was slow, compared to other countries, with about 4 million people, or less than 3% of the population, vaccinated by the end of February. Some of it may also be due to the great reluctance among Russians to trust vaccines.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has based and marketed the vaccine abroad, did not respond to a request for comment on how many doses go to other countries. It was said earlier that it had received requests for 2.4 billion doses from more than 50 countries.
Airfinity, a scientific analysis company in London, estimates that Russia has agreed to deliver about 392 million doses abroad, and there are at least 356 million talks with countries.
Judging by production and exports so far, “Russia is far from being able to supply it,” said Rasmus Hansen, CEO and founder of Airfinity.
Russia last year produced just over 2 million doses amid reports of local producers having problems purchasing equipment and producing the second component of the shotgun vaccine.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on February 20 that more than 10 million doses of Sputnik V had been produced.
Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine that uses a harmless virus that carries genetic material to stimulate the immune system. Its manufacture is a complex process, says Elena Subbotina, a consultant at the CBPartners pharmaceutical team in Central and Eastern Europe. Producers can not guarantee stable production because there is a lot of variability in the quality of the final product with biological ingredients.
Some countries that have offered large quantities of Sputnik V have yet to approve it.
In India, which has been promised 125 million doses, the vaccine is undergoing studies to determine if it produces a similar immune response. The Brazilian Ministry of Health has said it is negotiating to buy 10 million doses, but the country’s government agency has yet to approve its use. Nepal, which was offered 25 million doses, also did not give its approval.
Other countries have had delays in receiving Sputnik V deliveries.
Argentina received nearly 2.5 million doses by March 1, although the government at one point expected 5 million in January and more than 14 million in February. Officials in Hungary, who agreed to buy 2 million doses over three months, said they were expecting 600,000 doses in the first 30 days on January 22, but they received only 325,600 in early March. Mexico signed an agreement for 24 million doses and hoped to receive 400,000 in February, but received only 200,000.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreements with manufacturers in countries, including Brazil, South Korea and India, to promote production, but there is little indication that manufacturers abroad have so far made large quantities of the vaccine.
The Brazilian company Uniao Quimica is in the pilot test phase, the results of which will be shared with Russia before the company can produce it for sale. The Indian drug manufacturer Hetero Biopharma, with an agreement to make 100 million doses, would start at the beginning of 2021, but it is not clear if it really started.
South Korean company GL Rapha, which is expected to make 150 million doses this year, will produce end products in March, said Kim Gi-young, industry official.
So far, Russia has not been criticized for delaying the supply of Sputnik V to other countries, with foreign officials optimistic about the deals.
Hungary is still waiting for major deliveries, but expressed optimism about receiving it.
“The Russian side will comply with minimal delay with the 600,000 doses agreed in the first phase, and then the additional 1.4 million doses,” said Hungarian State Secretary Tamas Menczer last month. Prime Minister Viktor Orban added on Friday: “The Russians are keeping their promises.”
Promise of more than can be delivered appears to be a universal problem with coronavirus vaccines, and it is also a real risk for Russia, said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Studies in Europe Europe Asia in Brussels .
“They won the gold medal for creating this very effective vaccine,” she said. “But the problem is how are they going to implement it?”
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Associated Press Writers Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi, India; David Biller in Rio de Janeiro; Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Justin Spike and Bela Szandelszky in Budapest, Hungary; and Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.
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