"Return to the big league": what they say about the Russian vaccine in the West
Jan 17, 2021

"Return to the big league": what they say about the Russian vaccine in the West

The West is surprised that Russia has created an effective vaccine against COVID-19, said Federico Cucso, a member of the executive committee of the World Federation of Scientific Journalists. According to him, prejudices prevent Western countries from realizing the fact of "Russia's return to the top pharmaceutical league."

The creation of the Russian vaccine "Sputnik V" from the coronavirus COVID-19 was the result of a rich history of scientific developments by Russian scientists, writes the Spanish edition of the French newspaper Le Monde diplomatique in an article authored by a member of the executive Committee of the World Federation of Scientific Journalists Federico Cucso. However, due to language, cultural and political differences with Russia, most of the Russian initiatives were viewed with suspicion in the West, which is now surprised by the announcement of the creation of Sputnik V, according to the note."However, in addition to these prejudices and geopolitical movements, there is history and facts. The National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N. F. Gamalei has been working with adenovirus, a special type of virus on which the Sputnik V vaccine is based, since the 1980s.

Previously, this scientific institute, located in Moscow, has already developed vaccines against the Ebola virus and the MERS coronavirus (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Russia has demonstrated the ability to independently develop a drug that could suppress the pandemic, explains Kukso."This symbolizes the return of Russia to the top pharmaceutical league," the author quotes the words of diplomat Jean de Gliniasti from the French Institute of International and Strategic Relations.

The article also mentions that the Sputnik V vaccine is being distributed around the world, and vaccinations will be made in Russia, Argentina, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, Venezuela and Bolivia."Perhaps, as happened with the US-Soviet polio vaccine, in 50 years no one will remember these suspicions [of the West against everything Russian], more political than scientific," the author concludes.

It is worth noting that, in addition to these countries, the drug "Sputnik V" was registered on January 15 by the Ministry of Health of Paraguay, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).According to the foundation, the registration was carried out according to an accelerated procedure without conducting additional clinical studies on the territory of the state.Kirill Dmitriev, Director General of RDIF, noted that the registration of Sputnik V in Paraguay shows the growing interest of Latin American countries "in a safe and effective Russian vaccine" against COVID-19."We expect that Sputnik V will soon receive approval in a number of other states in the region, and we are ready to expand partnerships to jointly combat the pandemic," he added.

Santiago also became interested in the Russian vaccine - representatives of the Chilean Foreign Ministry held a remote meeting with the Gamalea Institute for the drug "Sputnik V", said the press secretary of the Russian Embassy Denis Vinokurov.The diplomat said that the meeting was organized "with the aim of reaching an agreement that will allow the transfer of information about the results of the Sputnik V vaccine to Chilean scientists."In addition, RDIF and Brazilian pharmaceutical giant União Química have agreed to supply Brazil with 10 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.Foreign coronavirus vaccines, including Pfizer, may also appear in the United States. Russia-after confirming their quality and official registration, TASS quotes the words of the head of Roszdravnadzor Alla Samoilova."As for the theory of whether we will have imported vaccines against coronavirus here, of course, they probably can be. But they can only appear after they are registered, " she said.

Samoilova stressed that there are no obstacles to the entry of foreign vaccines into the Russian market.It is worth noting that the director of the Gamalei Center, Alexander Ginzburg, allowed the creation of a single-component vaccine against a new type of coronavirus. He stressed that the main thing in the development of such a vaccine will be to ensure long-term protection of the body from the virus."It is necessary that the vaccine at least two years to protect, and not for a few months," - said the scientist.

The expert explained that currently there are no clear approaches to create a single-component vaccine that can protect against coronavirus for several years.

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