Disgrace for Russia! Instead of 1 billion Sputnik cans only 48 million exported so far!


It was supposed to be THE showcase project of Putin and show how strong Russia really is! Well Russia has only exported 48 million of the promised 1 billion COVID vaccines Sputnik – a crashing embarrassment!

So far less than 5% of orders delivered!

Russia has exported an estimated 48 million doses of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine out of the promised 1 billion doses, according to a life sciences data analysis company.

Airfinity estimates that 62 countries have supply agreements with Russia for about 1 billion doses of the Sputnik vaccine, which is licensed in about 70 countries. The company estimates that only 4.8 percent of the doses have been exported so far.

Russian state media earlier this year reported on the “conquest of the world” by the vaccine, which Moscow is marketing in developing countries while wealthy countries hoard vaccines developed in the West, the Associated Press reported.

Russia missed its chance!

Judy Twigg, a professor specializing in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the vaccine has been “the only game in town” for a while. She added, however, that Russia’s chance to really distinguish itself as the savior of the pandemic has passed.

“Russia has squandered that opportunity,” Twigg said. “I think in some cases Russia’s reputation has actually gotten a little bit worse in Iran, Guatemala, Argentina and maybe Mexico than if it had done nothing or if it had waited and made more achievable promises from the beginning, because people are disappointed.

People are dying because not enough vaccine is coming

Esperita García de Perez received her first vaccination against COVID-19 in May, which, along with her Catholic faith, made her feel better protected against the virus and she hoped to receive her second vaccination a few weeks later with the Russian-developed vaccine Sputnik V.

But the 88-year-old is still waiting. She contracted the virus last month, and her chances of survival now depend on the numerous medications and home care she receives.

Millions of people in developing countries from Latin America to the Middle East are also waiting for more doses of Sputnik V after manufacturing problems and other issues led to major gaps in vaccination campaigns.

The head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, which has invested in the vaccine, stressed Wednesday that supply problems had been resolved.

Venezuela, which has earmarked Sputnik for the over-50s, ordered 10 million doses in December 2020 but has so far received slightly less than 4 million. Argentina, the first country in the Western Hemisphere to administer Sputnik, received its first shipment on Dec. 25 but is still waiting for many of the 20 million it bought.

“I was afraid for a long time, many months, because (the vaccine) sometimes arrived, sometimes not, sometimes I had to wait, sometimes I didn’t have to wait,” García de Perez said, adding that “you want to have the certainty and the hope that the vaccine is coming.”

Unlike other COVID-19 vaccines, Sputnik’s first and second shots are different and not interchangeable. Production in Russia has been marred by reports of production difficulties, particularly in the manufacture of the second component. Experts point to limited production capacity and the fact that the process is very complicated.

Sputnik is a viral vector vaccine that uses a harmless virus carrying genetic material to stimulate the immune system. Manufacturers cannot guarantee stable production because working with biological ingredients involves many variables related to the quality of the final product.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which finances and markets the vaccine abroad and has production contracts with 25 production facilities in 14 countries, said it is “fully fulfilling the supply contracts for Sputnik V, including the second component, after a successful production ramp-up in August and September.

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