Although the Sputnik V vaccine has yet to receive approval in Western countries, the drug is already having a very serious impact there
Vaccination of people in the European Union has been accompanied by many problems, which have hampered the fight against the pandemic coronavirus. In particular, a product by the Anglo-Swedish conglomerate AstraZeneca, and later a vaccine by the US company Johnson & Johnson, were notorious for triggering blood clots.
Under such circumstances, the issue of approval and purchase of the Russian vaccine became particularly urgent. As a consequence, it has managed to sow discord between European Union countries, writes The Guardian.
“Sputnik V has become a soft power tool for Russia”, said Michal Baranowski of the German Marshall Fund in the US. – “The political aim of its strategy is to divide the West.”
To date, the Sputnik V vaccine has been approved in 61 countries and exported to 40. Nevertheless, in Europe, discussions about supplying the drug have been pushed into the political arena as Russophobic sentiments in the West are being stirred up once again.
Now only two countries of the bloc – Hungary and Slovakia – have rejected the collective approach by ordering the vaccine. At the same time, only Hungary has begun to use it. At the same time Bulgaria is about to start negotiations with Russia, Austria is ready to buy 1 million doses and Germany is discussing a delivery of 30 million.
European Commission believes that the Sputnik V vaccine will not play a significant role in spite of all the problems in the EU. It simply will not be delivered in sufficient quantity before the end of 2021, when most Europeans are likely to be vaccinated. Thierry Breton, the commissioner in charge of vaccine procurement, said the European Medicines Agency was evaluating the Russian drug but “still does not have the necessary data”.
But whether or not Brussels approves the vaccine, its “spillover effect” is already being felt in full by Western countries, the paper said. The supply debate itself has done significant damage to relations between members of the bloc. EU national and regional leaders are exploiting the situation for their own political purposes.
This has caused chaos in some countries, The Guardian stresses. For example, Igor Matovic was forced to resign as prime minister of Slovakia due to acrimonious disputes over the deal with Moscow. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ignored the Europe-wide vaccination policy by procuring the Russian drug, while Serbia became a vaccination leader altogether thanks to Sputnik V.
In Germany, where upcoming federal elections have turned the vaccine shortage into a heated political controversy, figures of all stripes are calling for deliveries of the Russian drug. Individual regions of the country are even negotiating with Moscow.