Corona: For Putin, Sputnik V are "the best vaccines in the world"

display

The daily cheers in Russia for the corona vaccine Sputnik V are reminiscent of the days when the proud space nation was the first to venture into space.

That is why the vaccine is named after the first satellite - the Sputnik - as the head of the Russian state direct investment fund RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, proudly points out.

Russia's top marketer of the drug has just summoned the world press to report on new successes.

“India is the 60th country that Sputnik V has approved.

A milestone, ”he says happily.

However, EU approval is still not in sight.

Bavaria has already secured millions of doses of the drug.

A company in the Swabian Illertissen is supposed to produce Sputnik.

After approval, the Free State will receive 2.5 million vaccine doses.

Experts from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are currently in Russia because they have many questions about the Russian data submitted so far.

They visit vaccination clinics, production facilities and storage rooms.

Health expert Jérôme Lepeintre does not expect a decision at the EU representation in Moscow until June or July.

Then Sputnik should also be used in Germany if it is approved.

display

Three billion people lived in the 60 countries that had previously approved Sputnik - a huge potential, emphasizes Dmitriev.

Now he still longs for EU approval.

Sputnik should become an export hit.

But in an international comparison with the preparations from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, for example, the remedy falls significantly.

Dmitrijew also leaves frequently asked questions about specific production figures unanswered.

Russia's vaccination officials have long been criticized for not dealing transparently with numbers.

Independent experts assume that Russia can only deliver a small fraction of the doses that it has previously promised internationally.

Three percent of Russians are vaccinated

According to official information, Hungary alone received a million Sputnik cans.

The country was the only EU member to approve the vaccine nationally without waiting for the EMA decision.

display

If you watch reports on large-scale Sputnik V transports on Russian state television, for example to Latin America, you quickly get the impression that the vaccine is conquering the world.

Western preparations do not play a role here.

Many regions in Russia are even complaining about delivery bottlenecks, as even Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had to admit.

According to Putin, only 4.3 million people have received the two necessary syringes.

That is almost three percent of the 146 million inhabitants.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in the government coordination center - "the best vaccines in the world"

Source: AP / Alexei Druzhinin

In Germany, the corresponding vaccination quota is twice as high.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, six percent of the population has received the two necessary syringes so far.

As in space travel, Russia prefers to compare itself to the USA, where the vaccination rate is over 20 percent - that's more than 70 million completely vaccinated.

The official statistics in Russia only show new infections of less than 10,000 cases per day and deaths of over 300 per day.

No vaccination numbers.

display

In addition to the internationally known vaccine Sputnik, Russia has two more: EpiVacCorona and CoviVac;

they are "the best vaccines in the world," said Putin.

The 68-year-old had his first injection missed, but did not let anyone know which vaccine he decided on.

However, recently he kept making steam that production should be increased.

Away from Moscow, where vaccinations are even possible when shopping in mall, there are often long waiting times in the province.

"Make every effort to get started in summer"

RDIF boss Dmitriev has now announced that India will soon become the main international production location for Sputnik V.

Five production sites have already been firmly agreed.

More are to be added.

"From summer onwards, 50 million cans can be filled there every month." Russia also wants to have the vaccine developed by the Moscow Gamaleja Institute produced in China and Korea.

The Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm has also announced that millions of doses a month could roll off the production line in Illertissen from June or July.

"We are making every effort so that it can start in the summer," said R-Pharm manager Alexander Bykov in Moscow.

“We already have the equipment there and the cadres.” Bavaria's Minister of Health, Klaus Holetschek, like Prime Minister Markus Söder (both CSU), is one of Sputnik's friends.

"It's a very potent vaccine," he said recently.