DISINFO: Russian coronavirus vaccine has dozens of orders unlike the American one
SUMMARY
The anti coronavirus vaccine from the American company Moderna is unlikely to leave the United States in the near future. The vaccine turned out to be very expensive and it is unlikely that poor states can afford it. So no one is queuing up for the American novelty yet.
After the world’s first official registration of the Russian drug Sputnik V, dozens of countries have already applied for its purchase.
RESPONSE
The Pro-Kremlin outlet Vesti refers to the Guardian when it claims Moderna is too expensive to become popular among poorer countries, but it appears to mix up two vaccines. The original publication by the Guardian says that Moderna vaccine against coronavirus is more affordable than Pfizer: "The second reason to applaud is that Moderna’s vaccine can be kept in an ordinary fridge at 2 to 8C for a month. The big anxiety about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the need to keep it in what is known as ultra-cold chain – freezers running at between minus 70C and minus 80C. That makes it really hard in most countries to store and transport the vaccine, and nigh impossible in low-income countries, without substantial donor help."
To conclude its reporting, the disinformation outlet says that there are dozens of countries which have already applied for the purchase of the Russian vaccine in contrast to the American one for which "no one is queuing up".
While Russian vaccine Sputnik V was declared by Russian propaganda to be the first vaccine ever registered in the world, it was announced even before the start of phase 3 of the clinical trials, normally required for any new drug. The Russian association of organisations on clinical trials urged Russia to postpone registration because not even hundreds of people tested it.
At that, Russia misrepresents messages on the Sputnik V's samples import for trials as the effective supplies. Thus, the Hungarian government’s statement that it would import small quantities of vaccine for testing is amplified as “Hungary said when it will start to import the Russian vaccine”.
A statement by WHO's official on data analyses of the Russian vaccine is also mispresented as "WHO said that Russian vaccine is safe and efficient".
See previous narratives claiming that Russia combats coronavirus more effectively than the democracies, such as Trying to catch up with Russia, the West lost another round in the fight against pandemic; There is no approved COVID-19 vaccine except the Russian one, says Reuters4; The first vaccine against coronavirus available in the Czech Republic will definitely be the Russian one.