Russia’s once scorned Sputnik V vaccine fast becoming a favourite in combating COVID-19

*Experts have disclosed the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is cheaper, and unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, can be stored in a fridge rather than a freezer, making it easier to transport and distribute in poorer and hotter countries of the world

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The comparatively cheaper Russian Sputnik V vaccine with 92 percent efficacy in peer review and more than 30 countries agreeing to purchase or produce it, the once scorned COVID-19 vaccine is fast becoming the favourite for immunisation against the fatal novel Coronavirus disease worldwide.

ConsumerConnect reports President Vladimir Putin’s announcement August 2020, that Russia had cleared the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine for use before it even completed safety trials sparked widespread skepticisms across the globe at the time.

The Sputnik V vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund upon activation September 2020, was roundly criticised by experts and authorities following Russian authorities’ express approval for Sputnik V and another vaccine for widespread use for inoculation against COVID-19.

It was learnt they had done so though neither of them had finished Phase 3 trials to prove they are safe and effective at the time.

As of now, however, Putin may reap diplomatic dividends as Russia basks in arguably its biggest scientific breakthrough since the Soviet era, agency report said.

This is because countries are lining up for supplies of Sputnik V after peer-reviewed results published in The Lancet medical journal last week showed the Russian vaccine protects against the deadly virus about as well as United States (US) and European shots, and far more effectively than Chinese rivals.

Report indicates no less than 19 countries have approved the inoculation for use, including European Union (EU) member state Hungary, whereas key markets such as Brazil and India are close to authorising it as well.

Russia is currently setting its sights on the prized EU market as the bloc struggles with its vaccination programme amid supply shortages in recent times, report stated.

In the global battle to defeat a pandemic that’s claimed 2.3 million lives in little more than a year, the race to obtain vaccines has assumed geopolitical significance as governments seek to emerge from the huge social and economic damage caused by lockdowns imposed to limit the spread of the virus.

This scenario is reportedly giving Russia an edge as one of a handful of countries where scientists have produced an effective defence thus far.

More so, unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Sputnik V can be stored in a fridge rather than a freezer, making it easier to transport and distribute in poorer and hotter countries.

Report indicates that for about $20 for a two-shot vaccination, the vaccine is also cheaper than most Western alternatives, while more expensive than AstraZeneca, the Russian inoculation has shown higher efficacy than the United Kingdom (UK) vaccine.

For some nations such as Iran, which received the first batch of a promised 2 million doses this week, Russia offers a more palatable political alternative than Western suppliers.

But Russia is also making inroads into countries such as the United Arab Emirates, which is traditionally close to the US and has approved Sputnik V for use, according to report.

Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic and Ivory Coast are among other potential customers for Russia.

Guinea as well became the first African country to start dispensing Sputnik V in December with Moscow-friendly President Alpha Conde and several ministers taking the vaccine.

It is recalled Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), in a media interview January 14, 2021, also underscored the suitability of Sputnik V for the country’s storage facilities.

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria

He cautioned the Federal Government to consciously consider Nigeria’s storage facilities and the epileptic electricity supply before procuring COVID-19 vaccines.

The PSN President urged Federal and state governments to first consider vaccine alternatives if the government has the choice, just as the country expects the first doses of a vaccine.

He recommended Oxford-AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik vaccines, saying it would be tough to store vaccines at minus 70 centigrade in the country.

Ohuabunwa said: “We should consider the ability to manage the logistics, to store them safely and move them from port to hospital, clinics, and pharmacists where they will be administered to the patients and Nigerians.

“What matters most is the ability to manage the logistics, especially the ability to maintain a cold chain. With this, the Pfizer vaccine may not perfectly fit into our circumstances here.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s decision to name ‘Sputnik V’ after the world’s first satellite whose 1957 launch gave the Soviet Union a stunning triumph against the US to start the space race only underlined the scale of the significance Moscow attached to the achievement, reports Bloomberg .

It is also noted that results from the late-stage trials of 20,000 participants reviewed in The Lancet medical publication showed that the Russian vaccine has a 91.6% success rate.

“This is a watershed moment for us,” Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, which backed Sputnik V’s development and is in charge of its international roll-out, said in an interview.

As over 30 countries have agreed to buy or produce Sputnik V, and state television reports extensively on deliveries to other nations, Russia is already making much of the soft-power impact of the vaccine on its image in the international system, according to report.

Oksana Antonenko, a Director at Control Risks Consultancy, said though Sputnik’s success would not change hostility towards President Putin among Western governments, the vaccine feat could strengthen Russia’s geopolitical clout in regions such as Latin America.

Antonenko said: “With this vaccine, it’s proven itself capable of producing something new that’s in demand around the world.”

Meanwhile, production constraints are the biggest challenge facing all manufacturers as global demand far outpaces supply.

ConsumerConnect recalls President Putin acknowledged this challenge in ramping up production while on the ‘VTB Capital’s Russia Calling!’ forum October 29, 2020.

He stated Russia is currently facing problems in its attempt to mass-produce its COVID-19 vaccine, as the number of immunisations slowed in Moscow, the country’s capital.

He said: “The only question now is how to ensure the required volume of industrial production.

“There are certain problems associated with the presence or absence of the necessary equipment.”

While pledging free shots for its 146 million population, Russia was said to have begun output last year, and the vaccine is currently being manufactured in countries, including India, South Korea and Brazil.

Sputnik V vaccine emerged a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, as he signed an agreement to produce it in Turkey, even as the nation has deals to buy 50 million doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech Limited’s CoronaVac vaccine and 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot.

However, despite Russia’s success on the vaccine achievement, domestic demand reportedly remains lukewarm so far, driven by public suspicion of the authorities.

Putin, 68, fuelled the skepticism last December when he said he was waiting to get the inoculation until it had been cleared for people his age.

He still has not said whether he has been vaccinated, but other nations aren’t waiting to find out, report said.

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