MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s ostentation in August that it was the first country to authorize a coronavirus vaccine led to skepticism at the time because of its insufficient testing. Six months later, as demand for the Sputnik V vaccine grows, experts are raising questions again – this time, whether Moscow can meet all the requests from countries that want it.
Slovakia received 200,000 doses on March 1, although the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s pharmaceutical regulator, did not begin to review its use until Thursday. in an accelerated process. The president of the hard-hit Czech Republic said he wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to obtain supplies. Millions of doses are expected by countries in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East in a wave of Russian vaccine diplomacy.
“Sputnik V continues to conquer Europe with confidence,” said anchor Olga Skabeyeva to the state TV channel Russia-1.
Dmitry Kiselev, the network’s main pro-Kremlin anchor, spoke about hyperbole last month, shouting, “The Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, is the best in the world.”
State TV channels have extensively covered vaccine exports, citing foreign praise for Russia and showing segments about the difficulties countries are having with Western vaccines.
The first criticisms of Sputnik V were mitigated by a report in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet, which said that large-scale tests showed that it was safe, with a 91% effectiveness rate against the virus.
This could help renew Russia’s image as one of scientific, technological and benevolent power, especially as other countries face shortages of COVID-19 vaccines because the wealthiest nations are catching western-made versions or manufacturers struggling with production capacity. limited.
“The fact that Russia is among the five countries that were able to quickly develop a vaccine … allows Moscow to present itself as a high-tech knowledge powerhouse, rather than a declining gas pump,” said the analyst foreign affairs Vladimir Frolov.
Some experts say that increasing the use of vaccines from China and Russia – which are not as popular as those in the West – may offer a faster way to increase global supply. Others note that Russia wants to mark geopolitical points.
“Putin is using (the vaccine) to reinforce a very tarnished image of Russia’s scientific and technological prowess,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Legislation. “He is using it for geostrategic purposes in areas where Russia would like to have spheres of influence.”
Whether Russia can deliver is another matter. China has supplied millions of doses to other countries, but Sputnik V production appears, for the time being, to be far less than demand.
“They had a success beyond their wildest dreams in terms of this vaccine really being a viable and marketable product,” said Judy Twigg, professor of political science with a specialization in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University. “They made all of these explicit and implicit promises to people inside and outside Russia about access to this product that is now unexpectedly great. And now they are trying, struggling, trying to figure out how to keep all those promises. ”
Russia must also take care of itself. Authorities announced plans to vaccinate 60% of adults, or about 68 million people, by the end of June.
Domestic deployment in Russia has been slow compared to other nations, with around 4 million people, or less than 3% of the population, vaccinated in late February. Part of this may also be due to the widespread reluctance among Russians to trust vaccines.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which financed and marketed the vaccine abroad, did not respond to a request for comment on how many doses are going to other countries. He said earlier that he had received orders for 2.4 billion doses from more than 50 countries.
Airfinity, a London-based scientific analysis company, estimates that Russia has agreed to supply some 392 million doses abroad, and there are negotiations with other countries for at least another 356 million.
Judging by production and exports so far, “Russia is a long way from being able to offer this,” said Airfinity CEO and founder Rasmus Hansen.
Russia manufactured just over 2 million doses last year amid reports from local producers who had trouble buying equipment and making the second component of the double vaccine.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on February 20 that more than 10 million doses of Sputnik V were produced.
Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine, which uses a harmless virus that carries genetic material to boost the immune system. Producing it is a complicated process, said Elena Subbotina, a consultant with the CBPartners pharmaceutical consultancy team in Central and Eastern Europe. Producers cannot guarantee stable production because working with organic ingredients involves a lot of variability in terms of the quality of the finished product.
Some countries that have been offered large batches of Sputnik V have not yet approved it for use.
In India, which has promised 125 million doses, the vaccine is undergoing studies to determine whether it produces a comparable immune response. The Ministry of Health of Brazil said it is negotiating the purchase of 10 million doses, but the country’s regulatory agency has not yet authorized its use. Nepal, which received 25 million doses, also did not give its approval.
Other countries have experienced delays in receiving remittances from Sputnik V.
Argentina received almost 2.5 million doses by March 1, although at some point the government expected 5 million in January and more than 14 million more in February. Officials in Hungary, who agreed to buy 2 million doses over three months, said on January 22 that they expected 600,000 doses in the first 30 days, but only managed 325,600 in early March. Mexico signed an agreement for 24 million doses and expected to receive 400,000 in February, but obtained only 200,000.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreements with manufacturers in countries like Brazil, South Korea and India to increase production, but there is little evidence that manufacturers abroad have made large quantities of the vaccine so far.
Brazilian company União Química is undergoing pilot tests, the results of which will be shared with Russia before the company can produce it for sale. Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero Biopharma, with an agreement to manufacture 100 million doses, was expected to start production in early 2021, but it is unclear whether it really started.
South Korean company GL Rapha, which expects to make 150 million doses this year, will be manufacturing finished products in March, company official Kim Gi-young said.
Russia has so far faced no criticism for delaying the supply of Sputnik V to other countries, with foreign officials optimistic about business.
Hungary is still waiting for large shipments, but expressed optimism in receiving them.
“The Russian side, with a minimum delay, will serve the 600,000 doses agreed in the first phase and then the additional 1.4 million doses,” said Hungary’s Secretary of State, Tamas Menczer, last month. Prime Minister Viktor Orban added on Friday: “The Russians are practically keeping their promises.”
Promising 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 Russia Europe Asia Studies Center, based 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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The 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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