Yesterday, Russians finally received a dose of good news. Just like Russia had won the vaccine race, it became the first nation to start vaccinating its citizens. Russia’s daily cases (25000+) and daily deaths (500+) are setting new records every day. These are official, rather than actual, figures. In the spring itself, the federal government had directed local authorities to classify deaths as resulting from heart disease, HIV, or other conditions that may have been made worse by coronavirus, rather than list covid-19 as the cause of death.
Sputnik-V is a great brand name reminding the old
generation of Russia’s superpower status in the 1950s. The vaccine has been pronounced
as 95% effective, based on 20 cases. The data hasn’t been published or shared.
The phase III trials continue. They will end in May or June 2021. But vaccination
began in Moscow yesterday.
Dmitry Kisilyov, the TV anchor (Russia’s Sean Hannity
or Arnab Goswami) said: “Sputnik-V is like a Kalashnikov, simple and reliable.”
I would say this is a rather unfortunate comparison given the outcome of using
a Kalashnikov.
*****
Russia wishes to compete with China on vaccine
diplomacy. It says it has orders for 1.2 billion doses from 50 countries. Sputnik-V
is free for Russians. Foreigners will pay less than $20 for two doses. Cheaper
than the Western vaccines.
In July, Russia announced it will produce 200 million
doses by December 2020. In September, this was reduced to 10 mn. And the latest
estimate is 2 million.
There is a further complication. The two doses need to
be given with a gap of 21 days. It seems the two adenovirus doses have
different compositions – the first based on serotype 26, second on serotype 5.
Technical problems have developed in producing the second dose. But few
Russians were injected with the first dose yesterday. It is hoped the production
problems with the second dose will be resolved before the second dose is due. Now
the authorities have said 21 days doesn’t really mean 21 days – it can be anywhere
between 21 days and 50 days. (Meaning they think the problem may take up to
fifty days to resolve).
Tatyana Golikova, the deputy Prime Minister, delivered
another shock in her announcement. There is a long list of those who are not
eligible to get the vaccine – people with a heart condition, tuberculosis,
hepatitis, syphilis etc. In the west, elderly are the priority. In Russia, eligibility
is restricted to between 18 and 60 years of age. Golikova said it would take 42 days after
vaccination to develop immunity. During those 42 days, the vaccinated person
must wear a mask, avoid crowds – and not drink alcohol. This instantly made
the entire Russian male population join the anti-vaxx movement. Forty-two days sobriety
is an inhuman requirement.
*****
Sputnik-V needs a constant minus 18 C temperature.
Unless vaccination is exclusively carried out in the Siberian winter, this
requires special freezers. The plans for transport or storage are not clear.
The problem is solved for the moment because the production for the foreseeable
future will be so low, it can be entirely used in Moscow, where freezers are
available.
In Soviet times, the drugs and vaccine production
happened in the Baltic republics and Hungary. Russia has not registered a
single drug or vaccine in the EU or USA. It has some experience of developing,
but not production. Some of the production lines are from Soviet times, manufactured
in a country that no longer exists. Production for trials is not the same thing
as production for mass vaccination. Russia could outsource production to India,
as they plan to, but Indian companies will not touch the Russian vaccines until
they fulfill the American and European orders.
*****
This narration should make the Russians happy. It
shows there is little possibility of having to abstain from drinking for forty-two
days.
Ravi
fascinating. thanks for the detail
ReplyDelete