Russian officials have been vigorously promoting their own development of the “Sat-V” vaccine against the new coronavirus. However, media reports indicate that there have been many recent cases of deaths and adverse side effects after receiving the vaccine in Russia. Meanwhile, Poland does not want to use the Chinese vaccine, despite preferential treatment from China and personal lobbying from its leaders.
4 deaths, 6 side effects after vaccination
Many Russian media reported on Friday (April 9), citing the online newspaper “EU Observer”, that there were four recent deaths and six serious adverse reactions to the “Sat-V” vaccine in Russia. These incidents were described and reported in internal documents of the Russian health regulator, but were not made public.
The Brussels-based newspaper, citing documents from Russia’s consumer watchdog obtained by the European Medicines Agency, said that of the four deaths, all but one of which were unidentified, the other three involved three women aged 51, 69 and 74, two in the Leningrad region and one in the central Perm region.
In two cases in the Leningrad region, a woman was hospitalized in early February after being vaccinated and died a week later. She had diabetes and was also infected with the new coronavirus. Another case involved a woman who suddenly collapsed in the street with convulsions and difficulty breathing and died, documents from Russia’s Consumer Monitoring Agency describe. The cause of death is thought to be a side effect of the vaccination. The woman, who died on March 4, had received her first dose of the vaccine less than a month earlier and a second dose a little later.
The six non-fatal cases involved younger men and women, one of whom was only 25 years old. They all suffered from breathing difficulties, swelling, convulsions, muscle weakness, elevated blood pressure, headaches, dizziness and chills after receiving the vaccine.
Official Russian documents were leaked
The European Medicines Agency received these documents from the Russian Consumer Monitoring Agency not through official channels, but from anonymous sources. Photos of the documents were published by the online newspaper “EU Observer”. The authenticity of one of the documents was confirmed by Logunov, a senior researcher at the Russian Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Garmel. But Logunov believes that the case of the 51-year-old woman who died in the Leningrad region was investigated and found no connection between her death and the vaccination. The online newspaper said that the cause of death in these cases may be related to factors such as the heart, respiratory system, or blood sugar levels, and may not be directly linked to vaccination.
The Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Microbiology in Cameroon has developed the “Satellite-V” vaccine against the new coronavirus. The European Medicines Agency is currently evaluating the Russian “Satellite-V” vaccine, which is trying to enter the EU market. In February, the prestigious medical journal “The Lancet” said that the Russian “Sat-V” vaccine was 91.6% effective in the third phase of clinical trials.
Officials deny the reports
Russian officials have described “Satellite-V” as the most reliable, safe and effective vaccine. The head of the Russian Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Ginzburg said that the vaccine is not only under large-scale medical supervision, but also has no side effects when administered.
The head of the Russian Health Surveillance Agency Samorova said that there have been no deaths since the “Sat-V” vaccine was administered. The rate of adverse reactions does not exceed 0.1%
Onishchenko, a former head of Russia’s health regulator and currently a member of the State Duma, said that reports of deaths and side effects from the Satellite-V vaccine are fake news and are being pushed by rival U.S. companies. He called on the Russian public not to believe the reports and to continue receiving Russian vaccines without fear.
Xi Jinping’s phone call, China offers favorable terms to Poland
Meanwhile, Polish President Duda said on April 9 that Poland and China had negotiated over vaccine supplies and that the Polish government had decided not to purchase Chinese vaccines. Duda made the remarks at a meeting of the Polish cabinet the same day. One of the topics discussed at the meeting concerned the procurement of vaccines outside the EU mechanism.
Duda said that the vaccine offer made by China, the delivery period of the vaccine and other conditions were attractive in comparison. He and Chinese leader Xi Jinping also had a phone conversation a few weeks ago on the issue of purchasing Chinese vaccines, which spurred negotiations on the vaccine issue.
Promoting vaccine diplomacy, Russia and China have similar approaches to fighting the epidemic
Both Russia and China are now actively promoting vaccine diplomacy to expand their influence. Many countries use Russian vaccines as well as Chinese vaccines. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austria could purchase the Russian “Sat-V” vaccine and that negotiations between the two sides were nearing completion, several Russian official media reported Saturday.
Russian current affairs commentator Nikolsky said that Russia and China are now said to have close relations, and that many of the two countries’ actions in the field of epidemics, vaccines and other related issues are very similar.
Nikolsky said, “The Communist Party’s propaganda machine, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, are all making a lot of noise about how they can effectively deal with the epidemic. For example, how to seal off the city, how to check the military and police personnel, how to promote the vaccine, etc.”
These moves by Moscow and Beijing are new phenomena in international relations today under the impact of the epidemic and should be given special attention, Nikolsky said.
Public distrusts vaccines, Russia lags behind in vaccination rates
In addition to the “satellite-V” vaccine, several other new Russian vaccines are beginning to enter phase III trials. Russia has also agreed with a number of countries, including China, to produce the vaccine in those countries.
Russia has recently embarked on a massive awareness campaign, including speeches by officials and medical personnel, various media reports, and the use of street advertisements calling for vaccinations. At present, vaccinations are still mainly the “satellite-V” vaccine.
Echo Radio Moscow reports that although Russia claims to have registered the first vaccine for the new crown and was the first country to begin vaccination, today’s vaccination rates lag far behind those of other countries. This is partly due to the lack of production capacity of the vaccine industry and partly due to people’s fear of vaccination.
Some analysts and media believe that the Russian official media deliberately hype and publicize the deaths after vaccination in the United States and European countries, but the Russian public also does not trust their own vaccines, which, together with the lack of transparency in many moves of the authorities in dealing with the epidemic and the vaccine issue, increases the worrying hearts of the people and causes the vaccination in Russia to keep progressing slowly.
Recent Comments