The Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is helping Russia win a geopolitical victory. This statement was made on Sunday, February 14, by the French political scientist Pascal Boniface in an interview with Ouest-France.
The development of a vaccine against coronavirus and the problem with its distribution led to the emergence of “vaccine diplomacy”, he said. The expert noted that Western countries do not show themselves in it in the best way, and Russia is winning the geopolitical battle.
“When Putin presented his vaccine, there was a lot of ridicule. Its name, Sputnik, gave the world the impression that the Soviet Union and its grandiose strategy had returned. But this vaccine works, ”Boniface stressed.
On February 12, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced that Sputnik V is one of the three drugs against coronavirus infection in terms of the number of approvals received in the world.
It was noted that the vaccine was registered in the states of Europe, Latin America, as well as in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and North America, which exceeds the plans of the fund.
On February 9, it became known that RDIF had submitted an application for registration of Sputnik V to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It is not yet known when the application will be approved.
Sputnik V is the first coronavirus vaccine in Russia and in the world. She was registered on 11 August. The drug was developed by the specialists of the Gamaleya Center. The drug has shown high efficiency and safety.
According to the publication of the medical journal The Lancet, the effectiveness of the drug against the disease was 91.6% after analyzing data from 19,866 volunteers. At the same time, the indicator among the group of volunteers over 60 years old was 91.8%.