The Sputnik V vaccine, the focus of the new battle between Russia and the European Union

The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, on Wednesday sowed doubts about the Russian vaccine against the coronavirus, the Sputnik V. He wonders why Moscow is offering millions of doses of its antigen to many countries and making little progress in vaccinating its own population. He suggested that these difficulties were probably due to the fact that Russian citizens refused to receive this vaccine. Moscow responded harshly.

The Russian Embassy to the European Union issued a statement in which it accused Von der Leyen of “seeking politicization without reason and in a deplorable manner or of showing a lack of knowledge that is not suitable for a senior leader. level”.

In Brussels, they also remember that 68-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet been vaccinated or, if he had, has not made it public. Some Russian and Eastern European newspapers claim that Doses of vaccines accumulate in refrigerators in Russian hospitals without the majority of the population accepting that it is administered.

Moscow is still not asking the European Medicines Agency to authorize the marketing of its vaccine in the territory of the 27 Member States, although it has offered it to Europe and repeats that its vaccine is also good than another.

Senior European officials believe Sputnik-V is used by Moscow as a propaganda weapon or even a geopolitical tool rather than a drug to end the pandemic.

The Russian Embassy to the European Union also assures in its statement that Moscow was “perplexed to hear Von der Leyen’s statement”. And he argues: “The vaccination of our citizens is an absolute priority for Russia in its fight against covid-19”.

In addition, Russian diplomacy guarantees that “with full respect for the principles of democracy and humanitarian law, the administration -of the vaccine- in Russia on a voluntary basis and, to date, all interested citizens have been able to receive it. without delay and free of charge. Russia has set up a vast network of vaccination centers which continues to improve ”.

The Russian Embassy’s statement to the European Union also assures that Russia’s policy of offering Sputnik-V to other countries “has nothing to do” with its ability to vaccinate its population, which remains its priority.

Secret data

Russian government keep secret details of his vaccine, which he did not even pass on to the World Health Organization. But the prestigious British scientific journal “The Lancet” published a study in which it guarantees that the vaccine is safe and has a 91% effectiveness rate.

Russian diplomacy offers to provide all the necessary information: “Our country is ready to provide any country with full information about the invention of Russian scientists, as well as test doses of Sputnik-V to those who are interested so that ‘they can do their own analysis, both of its pharmacological characteristics and of economic and logistical factors ”.

Brussels is convinced it will not need to buy Russian vaccines and that from the second trimester the dose will be administered much faster. Its goal is that by September 30, 70% of European adults will be vaccinated. Health systems have ample capacity to do this.

It remains to be seen whether the supply will be sufficient. The European Commission has signed contracts for which it will theoretically receive up to 2,600 million doses (the population of the European Union is 447 million after the departure of 67 million Britons), it remains questions about the ability of pharmaceutical companies to deliver these quantities.

The European quarrel with Russia is intensifying. As of next week, European foreign ministers could give the green light to new European sanctions against Moscow for the conviction and imprisonment of the opposition Alexei Navalny.

Brussels, special

CB