DISINFO: Big Pharma and anti-Russian political forces are the main orchestrators of an information campaign against Sputnik V
SUMMARY
Big Pharma and anti-Russian political forces are the main orchestrators of an information campaign aimed against the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
This campaign has been going on from the beginning and its goal is to undermine the success of our scientists and the efficacy of the vaccine. It is mostly visible in British and American press, and it is also supposed to slow down the vaccination.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the West’s alleged efforts to discredit the vaccine.
There is no evidence of this supposedly coordinated information campaign aimed against the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V. Neither Western governments, nor the media are running campaigns to discredit the vaccine. The announcement of the registration of Sputnik V was met with criticism from experts and scientists, even the WHO expressed concern about its early registration.
Claims that the EU or its regulatory bodies are biased against the Russian vaccine are not supported by evidence. EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said she hoped the Sputnik V vaccine would be approved. For that EMA is conducting a rolling review including visiting Russian facilities. The rolling review of Sputnik V was launched on 4 March 2021. The EMA applies the same regulatory approach to all vaccine applications to check them for safety and efficacy. According to reporting by Reuters, the developer of Sputnik V missed a recent deadline of June 10, 2021 to submit required data, which may delay the approval process.
Furthermore, the opposite is true: there is evidence showing Russian efforts to discredit the Western vaccines and here. See a similar debunk here.