MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s brag in August that it was the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine sparked skepticism at the time over its inadequate testing. Six months later, as demand for the Sputnik V vaccine grows, experts are once again asking questions – this time whether Moscow can keep track of all orders from the countries that want it.
Slovakia received 200,000 doses on March 1, although the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s pharmaceutical regulator, only started reviewing its use on Thursday. in an accelerated process. The president of the hard-hit Czech Republic said he wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to get 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 on the state television channel Russia-1.
Dmitry Kiselev, the network’s main pro-Kremlin anchor, piled on the exaggeration last month, roaring, “The Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, is the best in the world.”
State television channels have paid extensive attention to vaccine exports, drawing praise from abroad for Russia and segments for the difficulties countries face with Western vaccines.
The early criticism of Sputnik V has been toned down by a report in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet, stating that large-scale testing has shown it to be safe, with 91% efficacy against the virus.
That could help turn Russia’s image into one of a scientific, technological and benevolent power, especially as other countries face a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines as wealthier countries boast Western versions or manufacturers struggle with a limited production capacity.
“The fact that Russia is one of five countries that were able to rapidly develop a vaccine … allows Moscow to present itself as a high-tech knowledge power rather than a disrepair gas pump,” said Vladimir Frolov, analyst. for foreign affairs.
Some experts say boosting the use of vaccines from China and Russia – which were not as popular as those from the West – could provide a faster way to increase global supply. Others note that Russia wants to score geopolitical points.
“Putin is using (the vaccine) to reinforce a deeply compromised view of Russia’s scientific and technological competence,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University professor and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “He uses it for geostrategic purposes in areas where Russia would like to have spheres of influence.”
Whether Russia can deliver is another question. China has supplied millions of doses to other countries, but production of Sputnik V seems much lower than demand for now.
“They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in believing that this vaccine is actually 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 of Russia about access to this product that is now unexpectedly great. And now they are stuck trying, scrambling, trying to figure out how to keep all those promises. ”
Russia must also take care of its own country. Authorities have announced plans to vaccinate 60% of adults, or about 68 million people, by the end of June.
Domestic rollout in Russia has been slow compared to other countries, with about 4 million people, or less than 3% of the population, vaccinated at the end of February. Some of that may also be due to the widespread reluctance among Russians to trust vaccines.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which funded and markets the vaccine abroad, has not responded to a request for comment on how many doses are going to other countries. It previously said it has received requests for 2.4 billion doses from more than 50 countries.
Airfinity, a London-based scientific analysis company, estimates that Russia has agreed to deliver about 392 million doses overseas, and talks are in progress with countries for an additional 356 million.
Judging by manufacturing and exports so far, “Russia is far from being able to deliver on this,” said Airfinity CEO and founder Rasmus Hansen.
Russia produced just over 2 million doses last year amid reports that local manufacturers were having problems buying equipment and making the second component of the dual vaccine.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on February 20 that more than 10 million doses of Sputnik V have been produced.
Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine that uses a harmless virus that carries genetic material to boost the immune system. Its production is a complicated process, says Elena Subbotina, a consultant with the Central and Eastern Europe team of pharma consultants CBPartners. Producers cannot guarantee a stable output because working with organic ingredients entails a lot of variability in terms of the quality of the end product.
Some countries that have offered large batches of Sputnik V have yet to approve it for use.
In India, which has pledged 125 million doses, the vaccine is undergoing studies to determine whether it causes a similar immune response. Brazil’s Ministry of Health said it is under negotiation to purchase 10 million doses, but the national regulatory authority has yet to approve its use. Nepal, which has received 25 million doses, has also not given approval.
Other countries have experienced delays in receiving Sputnik V shipments.
Argentina received nearly 2.5 million doses on March 1, even though the government was expecting 5 million in January and more than 14 million in February at one point. Officials in Hungary, who agreed to buy 2 million doses in three months, said on Jan. 22 that they expected 600,000 doses in the first 30 days, but only 325,600 in early March. Mexico signed a deal for 24 million doses and hoped to receive 400,000 by February, but only got 200,000.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreements with manufacturers in Brazil, South Korea and India, among others, to boost production, but there is little evidence that manufacturers abroad have made significant quantities of the vaccine so far.
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. Indian drug manufacturer Hetero Biopharma, with a deal to make 100 million doses, is set to begin production in early 2021, but it’s not clear if it actually started.
South Korean company GL Rapha, which expects 150 million doses this year, will produce finished products sometime in March, said Kim Gi-young, the company’s official.
Russia has so far not been criticized for delaying delivery of Sputnik V to other countries, with foreign officials optimistic about the deals.
Hungary is still waiting for large shipments, but expressed optimism about receiving it.
“The Russian side will meet the 600,000 doses agreed in the first phase with minimal delay, and then the additional 1.4 million doses thereafter,” Hungarian Secretary of State Tamas Menczer said last month. Prime Minister Viktor Orban added on Friday: “The Russians are pretty much 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 to Russia, said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies.
“They have won the gold medal for creating this highly effective vaccine,” she said. “But the problem is, how are they going to implement it?”
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.
Follow AP’s pandemic coverage on:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak