Pharmacists from Omnicare / CVS distributed 140 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to residents, staff and some caregivers at the day-long clinic at the Water Market at Bellingham Retirement Community.
Pete Bannan | MediaNewsgroup | Getty Images
The United States has identified three online publications targeted by Russian intelligence services, which they say are trying to undermine Covid-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, a State Department spokesman said Sunday.
The outlets “spread a lot of disinformation, including about the Pfizer and Modern vaccines, as well as international organizations, military conflicts, protests and any divisive issue they could exploit,” the spokesman said.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) only reported on Sunday on the identification of the alleged campaign. A Kremlin spokesman denies US allegations that Russia is disseminating false information about vaccines to the WSJ.
The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia approved its Sputnik V vaccine in August before launching a large-scale trial, saying it was the first country to do so for a Covid-19 shot. In peer-reviewed trials, it was proven months later that it was almost 92% effective in fighting the virus.
Pfizer, headquartered in New York, and German BioNTech, manufactured the first vaccine approved in the United States, which regulators approved in December. The second, made by Moderna, headquartered in Massachusetts, was approved later that month.
The spokesman said the State Department’s global engagement center, set up to counter propaganda and disinformation campaigns, had identified the three outlets.
News Front is controlled by the Russian federal security service, the center found. New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review are led and controlled by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.
A fourth outlet, Rebel Inside, which is controlled by the Russian army, has also been nominated by the center but is largely dormant, the spokesman said.
“The department will continue to expose Russia’s rogue activities online,” she added. “We will also continue to work closely with our allies and partners to provide a global response to the fight against disinformation.”