Covid-19: Putin calls on the BRICS to unite their efforts to produce Russian vaccines

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a video conference with his BRICS counterparts on November 17, 2020, at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow.

Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

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2 min

In a good position in the race for the vaccine against the Covid-19 with its Sputnik V, Russia could soon face a major concern.

How to produce this vaccine industrially when the infrastructure is lacking in the country?

Moscow therefore launched a call for collaboration with the BRICS countries on Tuesday, November 17, to be able to achieve its goal of mass production from January 2021.

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With our correspondent in Moscow,

Paul Gogo

For several weeks, specialists in the field questioned Russia's ability to massively produce its future vaccine against Covid-19.

Like everywhere else, the question has been politicized and Russia communicates extensively to promise the whole world its vaccine, Sputnik V, from January 2021. But the question now is whether Moscow will be able to meet the gigantic orders of its partners.

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin called on the so-called BRICS countries (in addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa).

He asks them to unite their efforts to open production centers in their territory.

Vaccine 92% effective, according to Moscow

For Russia, it is a question of transforming the test: the Sputnik V has already been sold to several countries of the world including China, India, Belarus, Mexico, Brazil, and even Hungary.

If his vaccine was designed in an unorthodox way, Moscow predicts a great future.

Its efficiency would be 92%.

In early November, Vladimir Putin had already hinted that the issue of vaccine production could pose a problem during a phone call with Emmanuel Macron.

The Russian president then asked his French counterpart to think about a collaboration with the Pasteur Institute to produce the Russian vaccine in Europe.

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See also: Covid-19: Moderna puts pressure on the EU to encourage it to order its new vaccine

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  • Coronavirus

  • Russia

  • BRICS

  • Vladimir Poutine

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