Many people are hopeful that Russia has started vaccination with a domestically produced vaccine, but many question the effectiveness of the vaccine, as the Russian government seems to only want to win the vaccine production race and more than half of the population has no confidence in the vaccine.
A poll by global market research firm Ipsos this week showed that only 43 percent of the Russian public wants to be vaccinated, compared to 69 percent in the United States and 65 percent in Germany. Other Russian polls indicate that only 38 percent of the Russian population wants to be vaccinated.
Irina Shestakova, an infectious disease expert, admitted in an interview with the RIA news agency, “It’s worrying. (Because) the country that vaccinates the majority of the population as soon as possible is the winner.”
Lev Gudkov, head of the Levada Center, noted that the propaganda campaign surrounding the Russian-made Sputnik-V vaccine has fueled several concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in August that Sputnik-V was the world’s first registered vaccine, raising concerns that the Russian government was rushing to win the vaccine production race.
Since “Satellite-V” is named after the first Soviet satellite launched at the height of the Cold War in 1957, it is more likely that the Russian government is eager to win the vaccine production race.
Gudkov noted, “This mass [vaccination] program is causing great concern and mistrust. People know that for Putin, this vaccine is part of Russia’s fight against the West.”
Russia’s official 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak data also raises doubts. Despite the large number of infections in Russia, the official death rate remains relatively low.
Russia’s methodology for calculating the official death toll is based only on autopsy confirmation, which the government has defended. A November poll by the Levada Polling Center showed that only 27 percent of the Russian public has confidence in official data.
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