DISINFO: Sweden will buy Russian vaccine against COVID-19
SUMMARY
Sweden will buy the Russian vaccine against COVID-19.
RESPONSE
This message is part of an on-going pro-Kremlin campaign aiming to promote the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
The title is misleading to convey the message that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is appreciated at the European level. Although the text of the article says that "if clinical trials in the European Union show good results, Sweden will buy the Russian vaccine", the title of the article presents this as a fact that "Sweden will buy the Russian vaccine against COVID-19". The issue with misleading headlines might seem minor, However, a headline can change the way we think. Read more in our previous analysis "It is All in the Headline: The Subtle Art of Information Manipulation".
For any medicament, including vaccines, to be used in the EU, it must first be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). According to EMA's latest statements it "has to date not received an application for a rolling review or a marketing authorisation for the [Sputnik V] vaccine".
Read similar cases claiming that Russia is much more effective in combating COVID-19 than European countries, that Macron allowed the use of Sputnik V in France or that previous Western criticism of Sputnik V was due to Russophobia.