Russia’s Sputnik V extends reach in Latin America

Russia’s Sputnik V extends reach in Latin America

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To date, nine Latin American countries have approved the use of the Sputnik V vaccine – Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela. The distribution of the vaccine has also started in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela.

The vaccine has been approved in 39 countries around the world, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which handles the marketing of the vaccine.

The Sputnik V vaccine has a cheaper list price and can be stored at higher temperatures than the Pfizer vaccine, which has made it attractive to Latin American countries with less developed economies and infrastructure. Two doses taken 21 days apart are required to be effective.

Argentina became the first country in Latin America to distribute the Sputnik V vaccine in late December, with the purchase of up to 25 million doses. The country has already distributed more than 600 thousand doses.

Since then, Venezuela and Mexico have received shipments of 100,000 and 200,000, respectively, in early February. Nicaragua started distributing the vaccine on March 2, after receiving a donation of an undisclosed amount of doses.

While Russia struggles to meet demand, some countries have received only very small remittances. Bolivia received 20,000 doses of Sputnik V in January, although it expects enough to vaccinate 2.6 million people. Paraguay has announced the purchase of one million doses, but so far has received only 4,000.

A nurse injects the Sputnik V vaccine at the first doctor as part of the vaccination plan against COVID-19 at the Hospital del Norte in El Alto, Bolivia. (Photo by Gaston Brito / Getty Images)

Russia recognized the tightening of production and considered launching regional production centers in several countries, including Brazil, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Some interest was expressed in the production of the Sputnik V vaccine locally in Latin America. RDIF recently announced an agreement with Richmond Laboratories in Argentina to start producing the vaccine in the country, although it has not yet set a deadline for delivery.

Experts have repeatedly expressed concern about the transparency surrounding Sputnik’s tests and their accelerated authorization in Russia. However, the vaccine was found to be 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 and 100% effective against severe and moderate disease in an interim analysis of the results of the Phase 3 vaccine trial published in The Lancet.

Reporting contributed by Mitchell McCluskey in Atlanta, Stefano Pozzebon in Bogotá, Tatiana Arias in Atlanta and Tim Lister in Spain.

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