DISINFO: The first vaccine against COVID-19 available in the Czech Republic will definitely be the Russian one.
SUMMARY
Western vaccines are likely to be delayed because they are already lagging behind Russia. The Russian vaccine will arrive in the Czech Republic much earlier. This is the best way to get an effective and safe vaccine as quickly as possible.
RESPONSE
The article is part of a pro-Kremlin narrative that promotes the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and other vaccines that Russia is said to have developed. This is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign on the Russian coronavirus vaccine (opens in a new tab)called “Sputnik V”, which was met with scepticism and criticism, even by Russian specialists.
Russia has announced that it is entering the "Early or Limited Approval" phase without waiting for the results of the third phase of clinical trials. The fact is, however, that the third phase of testing is crucial, because according to experts, it is in the third phase that it can be determined whether the vaccine has more serious side effects that the first two phases of testing may not detect.
Nowhere did the Czech government officials express any interest in the Russian vaccine. Officially, the Government released money to buy 3 million vaccines, to be contracted by the European Union. In order for the Russian vaccine to enter the European market, it would have to be approved by the relevant European authorities, which it is not.
See similar debunked cases how Sputnik V criticism is pure politics, Russian vaccine againgt COVID-19 Sputnik V is ready, or how Russian progress in COVID-19 vaccine has become for the West an outrageous challange.