DISINFO: EU's decision not to procure Sputnik V is incomprehensible
SUMMARY
While the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the EU stubbornly denies to include the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the renowned Gamaleya Institute in the list of vaccines it is procuring against COVID-19. The EU is politicising the efforts to combat the virus while it is also threatening member states ordering the Russian vaccine with sanctions.
RESPONSE
This article is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign in support of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus.
It has been widely reported that tests were not completed before Russia decided to release any information about Sputnik V. Scepticism come mainly from professional and scientific circles, not from Western officials or pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, the operation of the vaccine is questioned even by specialists directly from Russia. There is also evidence that Russia has at all times perceived the development of a coronavirus vaccine mainly in terms of geopolitical and economic gain.
Currently, there are 30 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 90 preclinical vaccines are under active investigation in animals. Only recently did a US company applied to FDA for an emergency approval.
As far as it concerns the possibility that the EU will impose sanctions on member - states for procuring Sputnik V, this is simply not true. Brussels warned Hungary against using Russia's COVID-19 vaccine because such a move would raise safety concerns and could damage trust in potential shots. Additionally, Sputnik V has not been reviewed by the European Medicines Agency.
The same disinformation campaign includes statements such as "Western attacks on the Russian coronavirus vaccine are a corporate cold war against humanity" or "Russian progress in COVID-19 vaccine has become for the West an outrageous challenge".