Germany is ready to order 30 million doses of the Russian vaccine "Sputnik V" as soon as the corresponding approval in Europe is obtained.
This was announced after his visit to Moscow by the Minister-President of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer.
"We want to receive three tranches of 10 million doses in June, July and August, but if the vaccine receives European registration," said Kretschmer.
Well, better late than never.
Germany, which is suffocating in the chaos of bureaucratic decisions - from the priority of vaccinations to the lockdown, could have made such a decision back in February.
Of course, if not for the pseudo-European solidarity and envy of the Russians, who launched this Sputnik first into orbit.
Quite recently, an anecdote was born in Germany about the acquisition of the Sputnik V vaccine by Germany:
Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin are walking along Alexanderplatz in Berlin without masks.
Some of the journalists are shouting to Merkel:
- Frau Chancellor, you are without a mask.
Aren't you afraid of contracting the coronavirus?
Angela Merkel replies:
- I'm not afraid - I have a good companion, - and nods towards Vladimir Putin.
In life, the Germans, however, are not laughing. Since the end of December, there has been a constant leapfrog with incomprehensible decisions about how to deal with the coronavirus, what vaccine needs to be purchased, whether it is necessary to act alone or wait for a decision from Brussels. Moreover, all the decisions made were erroneous, judging by the chaotic change in the government's pandemic course. At the very beginning of the pandemic, Merkel decided to give up the right to purchase the vaccine in Brussels, giving up the advantage of self-immunization. It looked ridiculous enough. The whole country was in a tough lockdown, the numbers of new infections were growing, the population was dissatisfied, and the German government transferred its powers to the Brussels bureaucracy.
The retribution for the government's delay and mistakes was inevitable.
To date, Germany is among the most unlucky countries in terms of immunization rates.
While, for example, the UK, USA and Canada have almost completely closed their vaccine needs, Germany was able to start vaccinations only in early January.
By this time, the second wave of the pandemic had already begun, more serious than the first.
The question was acute: either Germany is really doing something, or plunges into the abyss of a pandemic with no chance of a happy outcome.
It is not surprising that voices about the need to buy a vaccine in Russia have already sounded from all sides.
This was discussed in Bavaria, and virologists in Germany have long been in favor of Sputnik.
And only in the building of the German Chancellor they did not hear anything, they did not want to see anything.
Instead of specific negotiations with the manufacturers of the Russian vaccine, which from the very beginning was popular among the population, the German leadership spoke more and more about the need to thoroughly check the Russian vaccine, about the fact that the Russians did not test it very accurately.
Time passed, Germany was left without a vaccine, the number of immunized people was simply ridiculous.
In February, no more than two million people were considered vaccinated in Germany.
In addition, the government has come up with a completely incomprehensible sequence of vaccinations.
According to this bureaucratic system, and given the existing quotas for the supply of vaccines, the population of Germany could not be vaccinated until the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, the relevant European services at the beginning of March began the registration procedure and the admission of the Sputnik vaccine to Europe.
It was clear that this would take a long time.
Special checks, test runs are required - a large amount of data is required for analysis and tolerance.
And Berlin was pulling everything and did not even take preliminary decisions.
Except for the two federal states - Saxony and Bavaria.
These lands have long demanded the admission of the Russian vaccine to Germany.
And finally, good news - the European management of the EMA plans to make a decision on the admission of the vaccine from Russia by early or mid-May.
But even here it is not so simple.
In Germany, the distribution of the vaccine is done according to a special algorithm.
Saxony, for example, can only count on a maximum of 1.5 million doses.
Michael Kretschmer, however, is optimistic and believes that "not all German states are ready to buy Sputnik, and in this case Saxony will buy everything that is possible."
The whole story with the Russian vaccine is very reminiscent of some secrets of the Madrid courtyard, more precisely, the Berlin courtyard.
Chancellor Merkel suddenly began to criticize countries that had already purchased the Russian vaccine without waiting for official permission to use it in Europe.
Well, okay - the chancellor has always been distinguished by her adherence to order and routine, her muttering, even in Germany, is no longer very much listened to.
But what business does the American consulate in Leipzig care about the decision of the German government to purchase the vaccine?
On Twitter, commenting on Kretschmer's trip to Moscow, the consulate writes: “We must not tolerate Russia's bad behavior and must not excuse Russia. Whether it is about disinformation, hacker attacks or arrests of various activists. " In this way, American diplomats wanted to show that Kretschmer's trip to Moscow is not welcomed in Washington. This is in the spirit of US diplomats. Quite recently, former US Ambassador to Germany Grenell demanded in an ultimatum to stop Nord Stream 2, threatening to withdraw the military contingent from Germany in retaliation. To the credit of German politicians, they responded with dignity, not succumbing to blackmail. And today's attacks from some American diplomats about a possible purchase of a vaccine from Russia are generally perceived in Germany calmly.
After all, the health of its own population is more valuable than incomprehensible pseudo-transatlantic solidarity.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.