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The Lancet medical journal published an article earlier this month saying that the effectiveness of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine in protecting against COVID-19 was 91.6 percent, although many Western countries were skeptical.
Josep Borrell, head of European Union diplomacy, who stated during his visit to Moscow that “Sputnik V” is “good news for all humanity”, also suggested that the West was more favorable to the Russian vaccine.
“I hope that the European Medicines Agency can confirm the efficacy of this vaccine so that it can also be used in the countries of the European Union,” Borrell said.
It’s about politicians, not scientists
“It just came to our attention then. Here we can say what we want to talk about, whether we should or not, has already become an object of discussion for politicians. It is no longer discussed by scientists in Lithuania, but by politicians,” said Aurelijus Veryga. , a member of the Seimas peasant faction and shadow health minister, to the news portal tv3.lt.
He is convinced that Lithuania will not even have to solve the dilemma of acquiring Sputnik V, because Lithuania has already acquired enough vaccines to vaccinate the population several times, so after a while the problem may arise that someone needs to transfer unnecessary vaccines. .
“But if we talk about the vaccine itself, I think Lithuania is making a mistake when it comes to politicization. All scientists would agree that there should be no conspiracy theories about vaccines,” said A. Veryga.
According to the politician, there are no doubts about the effectiveness of other products made in Russia, such as gasoline, so there should be no doubts about the vaccine just because it is from Russia.
“One of my colleagues at Seimas said that Russia claims that vaccines made in the United States and Europe are wrong, so we may not go down to the same level. <...> The effectiveness of the vaccine is not evaluated by politicians, it is evaluated by scientists and experts. As soon as you evaluate it, we will know if it is good or if it is reliable. But Lithuania will not need it, because we have bought vaccines, which sooner or later we will receive and vaccinate our population, ”said A. Veryga.
Although an article published in a prestigious medical journal states that Sputnik V is almost 92% effective, according to Veryga, this is no guarantee that the vaccine will be approved in Europe.
“Theoretically, hidden or inaccurate things can come to light. <...> The vaccines are not registered according to the articles ”, said the politician.
According to Veryga, there are institutions such as the European Medicines Agency or the US Food and Drug Administration, which determine if vaccines are really safe and effective.
“It is not that simple, so when you consider a vaccine as a medicinal product, you don’t have to do it politically. The political decision is whether or not to buy said vaccine. There is already politics here,” said A. Veryga.
Said a resounding no
And there was a lot of politics around Sputnik V this week. Both current and former heads of state spoke about the possibility of Lithuania acquiring this vaccine.
When asked if Lithuania would consider buying the Sputnik V vaccine, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said a resounding “no”.
“No, we do not plan because the vaccine is not registered in any European Union (EU) country and has not been evaluated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). I think these are the comments here too, ”said the Prime Minister.
He assured the Kremlin that the vaccine is being used for geopolitical purposes.
“Efforts to offer the vaccine to European countries and other countries, when the Russian people have not yet been vaccinated, looks like another geopolitical game, I have no doubts,” said the head of government.
Conservative leader Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of the Conservatives, also rejected the possibility of buying the Sputnik V vaccine.
“I support the prime minister’s position that the Sputnik sun should not be transported from Moscow. I think it is also a geostrategic decision for Lithuania to buy vaccines, with our taxpayers’ money, from countries whose values are close to us.
We probably don’t want to pay money to a producer who will then buy ammunition for the same money in the budget, which can be used in eastern Ukraine, “Landsberg said.
There are double signs of the presidency
However, two messages were flying from the palace located in S. Daukantas Square. First, Simonas Krėpšta, senior adviser to Gitanas Nausėda, stated that the president has not yet ruled out the possibility of vaccinating Lithuania with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
“We trust the European Medicines Agency and its decisions. There is really no need to anticipate events, let’s wait for the EMA’s decision. Then, of course, each state makes an individual decision, taking all aspects into account.
There is a strategic goal to get herd immunity for the summer. This means having enough vaccines that are safe, without a doubt, so that we can guarantee the herd immunity of the people of our country, ”said S. Krėpšta.
However, a few days later the rhetoric changed and the presidency assured that the opinions of G. Nausėda and I. Šimonytė on “Sputnik V” agreed.
“There are no dissenting views on vaccines between the president and the prime minister. On the contrary, they both think that vaccines manufactured in Europe or the United States should be used,” said Asta Skaisgirytė, senior adviser to the president and director of the Group of Foreign policy.
Andriukaitis defends Sputnik V
Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, honorary president of the Social Democrats, special envoy of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the European Region, is convinced that it is not necessary to politicize the issue of vaccines against the coronavirus. According to the politician, if the Sputnik V vaccine is approved in Europe, the Community countries should buy it.
“The worst thing is when vaccine problems are politicized,” said Vice President Andriukaitis.
According to him, it is clear that the European Medicines Agency should approve the safety and efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine.
“So we have to think about how to ensure vaccination throughout the world, including the entire European region, <...> to make the vaccination process as simple as possible with as many vaccines as possible, safe and effective. Be it AstraZeneca, Sputnik or Pfizer, etc. ”Said Vice President Andriukaitis.
According to the politician, the threat of a pandemic is enormous, so in this case people’s lives are the most important value and “everything else is secondary.”
The European Union neither supports nor supports
European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said at the time that the European Union neither supports nor supports Russian vaccines, and everything is based on clear procedures.
“A Russian, Chinese or any other type of vaccine must be requested from the European Medicines Agency, and then all the processes will be carried out to evaluate whether the vaccine is in fact as effective as the one published in one or another scientific journal.
In this case, whether to allow it or not is certainly not a matter for politicians and it seems to me that it is not worth politicizing. There are procedures that are very clear and apply to all producers without exception, ”the commissioner told Knowledge Radio.
V. Sinkevičius assured that he agrees with the Prime Minister’s idea that the Sputnik V vaccine has become a geopolitical tool of the Kremlin.
“We see this when the issue is so politicized,” he said.
Criticize wrong thinking
“I don’t want to politicize any pill, pill, vaccine or vaccine,” former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis told Knowledge Radio.
According to him, if the vaccine is approved by EU legislation and is safe and effective, it does not matter where it is produced. Skvernel also argues that the idea that the Sputnik V purchase supports the Kremlin regime is incorrect.
“It is important that the vaccine is recognized in accordance with the legislation of the European Union, that it is truly appropriate, safe and effective. And it doesn’t matter where it’s done, “he added.
“If we look at that prism right away, then we shouldn’t have any business relationship with those states. <...> Most importantly, you need to look at how much those manufacturers are involved in the regimen. <...> If such information were that the vaccine manufacturer directly funds the regimen and that is the main goal, this is a solution. But if we only look at the fact that the money will go to one state or another in general and as a result we can sacrifice the lives and health of our people, it would certainly be a reckless attitude, “said S. Skvernelis.
However, the former prime minister seconded A. Veryga and said that he hoped that the already purchased vaccines would reach Lithuania and that there would not even be a need to consider Sputnik V.
An effective vaccine has been recognized
The portal tv3.lt recalls that the vaccine against the coronavirus “Sputnik V”, named after the first artificial terrestrial satellite launched by the Soviet Union, was approved by Russia a few months before the end of the last stage of clinical trials, by which received a rather skeptical assessment from some experts.
However, the third phase of clinical trials with 20 thousand. Recent volunteer data shows that after two doses of the vaccine, its effectiveness is more than 90 percent.
The developers of the Sputnik V vaccine have been criticized for their inadequate haste, their attempts to cut corners and their lack of transparency, according to a separate comment published in the journal by Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, and Polly Roy, a Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“However, the results published here are clear, demonstrating the scientific principle of vaccination, which means that another vaccine can join the fight to reduce the incidence of COVID-19,” the comment said.
According to published results, Sputnik V is one of the most effective vaccines against pandemic coronavirus. Their vaccines, Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, are more than 90 percent effective.
Russia has launched a mass vaccination of the population from the age of 18 with Sputnik V, without the results of the third phase of clinical trials.
The Russian vaccine has already been registered in several countries around the world, including Belarus, Venezuela, Bolivia and Algeria, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which contributed to the development of the drug.
In January, after Russia announced that it would seek to register its vaccine in the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany had offered Russia its help to develop Sputnik V.
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