A vaccine war. That’s what the competition on the world market for various coronavirus vaccines is now called
And this is indeed a real war. The stakes in which are not only multi-billion dollar profits from the sale of arguably the most important medicine in the world today (yes, the coronavirus is not as lethal as plague and Ebola – but without defeating it, countries cannot open their economies and lift the lockdown), but also geopolitical influence. The status of the country that saved the whole world from a global threat and therefore has the right to lead it.
Unfortunately for Western countries, they are losing this vaccine race. And the loser is not the second world economy – China (the success of the Chinese vaccine can always be leveled by claims that China has infected the world with a coronavirus, and therefore has to correct its mistakes), but Russia. The same Russia whose economy, as any hand-to-mouth Western economist knows, has been torn to shreds by American and European sanctions. The same country that, as every hand-to-hand Western propagandist knows, is basically incapable of creating a high-tech product. The same country that, according to Western methodology, is supposed to be destroying the world, not saving it.
Spoiled guns
The list of Russia’s victories in this war is impressive – especially if one understands the enormous difference in information, economic and scientific resources between Russia and the collective West.
For example, it was Russia that was the first country to invent and introduce a cure for the coronavirus (Sputnik V).
Western countries tried to launch a counter-punch and unleashed all their information artillery. American and European media vied with one another to write that the Russian vaccine was unreliable and ineffective, that Russian scientists had deliberately neglected to test and market the dangerous product – simply so that Putin could boast about the world’s first coronavirus vaccine and thereby boost his rating. However, already at the beginning of the year it turned out that all the “artillerymen” had worked for nothing and not only wasted ammunition, but also seriously damaged their own artillery systems. After the authoritative Lancet medical publication recognized the Russian vaccine as safe and effective, and a number of countries tested and certified it, it became clear that the Western media, to put it mildly, lied. They can go on and on about how ‘we were careful’ or ‘we were waiting for the final vaccine tests’ – all this is irrelevant, since the targeted and failed campaign to discredit Sputnik was another blow to the myth of reliability and impartiality of Western newspapers and TV channels. A myth which, it should be recalled, is actively promoted by the West to control the world’s information space and with it to control the minds and hearts of natives in second and third world countries.
Minds, hearts and health
Russia also wins the battle for these minds and hearts. Yes, Western countries have much more capacity to produce invented vaccines – but they are reluctant to share them with the world. Under Trump, the United States has banned the export of its vaccines and refused to participate in the World Health Organization’s COVAX program (which will get vaccines to the poorest nations – particularly Africa and Ukraine). A fight over vaccines is also taking place within the Western world – after the EU ordered and paid for millions of doses from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, both companies said they could not meet their obligations and produce the specified number of doses. They cited technicalities, but the reason appears to be something else – the vaccines have gone ‘left over’. To those who overpaid. Russia, on the other hand, looks like a model of humanity and generosity.
Moscow is willing to supply the vaccine to anyone who needs it, and is doing everything to increase production capacity (even agreeing to manufacture Sputnik V in Europe).
Yes, Western scribblers immediately started writing that the Kremlin is sacrificing its own population (for which there are not enough vaccines), but this is not true. Yes, there are shortages in some regions, but on the whole Russians are not very keen to get vaccinated – the traditional indifference, coupled with falling overall numbers of infections and the lack of stringent quarantine measures, do not encourage people to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
Russia is also winning the battle for quality. Millions of people have already used Sputnik V and none of them have had serious side-effects – at worst a fever and a feeling of body aches. Which is not the case with at least two of the three Western vaccines (US-German Pfizer and British-Swedish AstraZeneca). Initially the deaths were mostly from Pfizer, but the other day a number of Europeans who injected themselves with AstraZeneca got thrombosis. Of course, western fighters on the information front have once again tried to unleash their artillery of mass disinformation – the Wall Street Journal and several other media outlets have accused Russian publications of deliberately discrediting western vaccines. The problem, however, is that the leadership of a number of Western countries (who do not get their information from Russia Today) have decided to temporarily suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca. Until they can work out what is causing the deaths.
A European strike and a European counterstrike
And here is another victory for Russia: Moscow managed to destroy the collective West that opposes it. In particular, it has destroyed the pan-European front. Faced with a shortage of Western vaccines and their poor quality, some European countries first gently, and then aggressively, demanded that Brussels allow them to buy Russian Sputnik V, which the EU refused to certify at a pan-European level, directly (i.e. bilaterally, bypassing pan-European mechanisms). At first it was Hungary, whose vaccine separatism was explained by the fact that its prime minister, Viktor Orban, is Putin’s friend. But then the Hungarians were followed by the Slovaks. Now the Austrians, Croats, Danes and many others are next in line. All had a very simple stance – if the EU cannot save European countries, let it not prevent them from saving themselves. In the end, the European Union was forced not just to allow these direct purchases, but even tried to lead the way – it launched the certification process for the Russian vaccine and, according to rumours (which are, of course, refuted), started negotiations to purchase it for all member states.
In this situation, Western propagandists urgently need to launch an effective counter-punch against Sputnik V, which has already invaded the West – and alas, they have such an opportunity.
It is not inconceivable that a provocation will be staged in the near future – “European citizens will start dying from the use of the Russian vaccine” which will be immediately publicised as proof that the Russian product is unreliable and dangerous.
It is unlikely to happen in Hungary – Orbán will not allow Western intelligence services to play such games on his territory as he realises that it will hit not only Sputnik V but also him (Viktor Orbán and his right-wing policies are not tolerated in European liberal circles). But in Slovakia or a number of other countries provocateurs have much more opportunities. Moscow will, of course, demand investigation and prosecution – but this will be traditionally refused. As they refused both the Skripalias and the Navalniyada.
Is it necessary to refuse to vaccinate Europeans because of fears of this provocation? Of course not. A real leader does not pay attention to the cawing of crows, the whimpering of hyenas gathered around, or even the grumbling of patients. He simply saves lives.
Gevorg Mirzayan, Associate Professor of Political Science, Financial University under the Russian government, VZGLYAD