Russia’s Sputnik vaccine is attracting Eastern Europe, which worries the EU

As the European Union struggles to advance its coronavirus vaccine in a group of 27 members, Russia’s cowardly shots are attracting its friends to Eastern Europe, creating another potential rift in the region.

The Czech Republic, Riyadh, Hungary and Slovakia have expressed interest in buying and depositing Russia’s “Sputnik V” vaccine, which would undermine the EU-wide approach to approving and administering coronavirus vaccines.

Czech Prime Minister Andrzej Babis said on Sunday that his country could use the Sputnik V vaccine even without approval from the European Drugs Agency, the EU’s drug agency.

The Kremlin said Ria Stria had received a phone call last Friday from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz discussing possible supplies of the Russian Sputnik Vine vaccine, as well as its possible joint production. The call started. Austria has so far indicated that it will not bypass the EMA in terms of vaccine approval.

Hungary, a country in the EU that has completed relations with Brussels and whose leader, Victor Urban, is seen as a close ally of Putin, has shown no such hesitation. It became the first European country to authorize in January – bypassing the EMA – and buy the Sputnik Vine vaccine.

According to the Moscow Times, the country expects to receive 2 million doses of the Sputnik Vine vaccine in the next three months. When it comes to EU vaccine approval, Hungary also approved China’s Sinofarm vaccine last month.

On Monday, Slovakia became the second European country to announce that it had purchased the Sputnik Vine vaccine, receiving 20 million doses of the shot. Slovakia’s health minister said it would not be administered immediately, although it still needed green light from the country’s national drug regulator.

The slow pace of the EU’s vaccination rollout has led to widespread frustration with Russia’s approach to vaccination. It is hampered by the decision to jointly purchase the Blu-ray vaccine, and its orders came later than other countries, including the UK and US.

Production issues and bureaucracy – and for some countries, vaccine hesitation – are also hampering the rollout.

Nevertheless, the move by some Eastern European countries to unilaterally endorse Russia’s vaccine is a sign of increasing hostilities in Brussels as it undermines the EU’s desire for a unified approach, and a sense of equality regarding vaccine distribution.

Concerns have also been raised about Sputnik V in particular, although subsequent data have supported the effectiveness and reliability of the vaccine.

The vaccine was approved by Russia’s health regulator in August last year, before the completion of a clinical trial, with experts expressing doubts that it would not meet strict safety and efficacy standards. Some experts argued that the Kremlin is keen to claim victory in the race to develop the covid vaccine.

However, an interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trials of the shot found that the vaccine was 91.6% effective against symptomatic covid-19 infection, involving 20,000 participants and published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in early February.

Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in England, noted in a recent article in the Lancet that “the development of the Sputnik VN vaccine has been criticized for its hasty haste. But the results reported here are clear Could join the fight to reduce the incidence of Covid-19. “

However, the Gemalea National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, which has developed the vaccine, has not yet submitted an application to the EMA for marketing authorization of the vaccine, the EU’s drug agency said in early February.

Russia’s sovereign asset fund RDIF, which supports the development of Sputnik V, on Monday indicated to CNBC that it had applied to the EU Drugs Agency in mid-February for a rolling review of the vaccine. Although the EMA has not confirmed this, CNBC has contacted the EMA for comment.

The European Commission has warned Hungary, although indirectly, the EMA has approved Russia’s use of the vaccine. Back in November, a spokesman for the commission told Reuters that “the question arises as to whether a member state would want its citizens to carry a vaccine that has not been reviewed by the EMA,” which could damage public confidence in vaccinations.

“This leads to the same localization process and vaccine confidence. If our citizens start questioning the safety of the vaccine, it would be more difficult to carry out adequate vaccination without rigorous scientific evaluation to prove its safety and effectiveness.” “Population,” the spokesman said.

The decision by Hungary to keep the Sputnik Vine vaccine alone when it comes is not surprising to EU observers. The country’s right-wing leader, Victor Urban – the kind of “strong man” like Putin in Russia – has been raising a number of controversies with EU executives in recent years, especially over signs of the government’s growing dictatorship. The erosion of judicial freedom and freedom of the press in Hungary is a particular concern for the EU. However, the Hungarian government denies such allegations.

Gustav Grisel, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told CNBC on Monday that Hungary’s action was “part of Urban’s ongoing campaign with Russia and China in the East to promote a ‘declining, declining EU’ and Hungary’s future.” .

Meanwhile, the head of Europe and chief Russian analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, Darag M D Kadovale, described Sputnik V and the geographical states around the EU as “political theater more than anything else”.

“For Hungary and Austria, this is a sign of foreign policy here, as both Kurz and Orban have a closer relationship with Putin than their European counterparts in general. In the case of the Czech Republic, the excitement appears to have been more pronounced. The government is “doing something.”

It is also doubtful whether Russia has the capacity to deliver its Sputnik V vaccine to Europe on a large scale.

“While the Sputnik vaccine appears to be an effective vaccine in theory, Russia has had many difficulties in getting large-scale production properly … still not having enough Sputnik vaccine.” McDowell noted that “the issue is whether Sputnik V can make a significant difference in terms of regulatory issues and existing logistical problems, whether a sufficient number of vaccines can be produced by Russian manufacturers or under license.”