Sweden is striving to support NATO’s anti-Russian “containment” policy in Northern Europe despite not being a formal member of the bloc, hoping that it’ll be rewarded with American approval for its own “sphere of influence” over the lands of “Greater Scandinavia” in which its “deep state” believes that they have the historical right to exercise a form of hegemony. Truth be told, they’ll likely succeed for the most part since the smaller surrounding countries (especially the Baltics) have jumped on the anti-Russian bandwagon and are eager to receive as much military support from America’s new de facto Swedish ally as possible. They seem to hope that submitting themselves to this emerging regional order will work out to their national benefit in some way or another, perhaps economically through a “deluge” of Swedish investments after having accepted that their countries are unable to survive as truly independent states. If this growing “sphere of influence” remained economic and cultural, then it wouldn’t be a threat to Russia, but the problem is its dark military dimension.
Hungary became the first EU state to officially allow the use of the Sputnik V vaccine on its territory. Hungary is the first EU country to assess the benefits of Sputnik V.
This is an important decision of Hungarian specialists that demonstrates the high level of safety and efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine at over 90%.
Specialists name the important advantages of the Sputnik V to be safety, efficacy and lack of long-term negative consequences.
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V.
Importantly, the claim was published before the Lancet published interim results from a phase 3 trial of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. The trial results show a consistent strong protective effect across all participant age groups. This means that the interim results show Sputnik V vaccine appears safe and effective.
While it is true that Hungary became the first country in the European Union to give preliminary approval to Sputnik V, "some polls suggest only seven percent of Hungarians would accept the Russian vaccine". The critical view of the Russian vaccine is linked to the lack of transparency which accompanied its approval process. Doubts about the vaccine were expressed even by Russian specialists in the country. The reservations and criticisms of Sputnik V are caused by the fact that Russia had not completed large trials to test the vaccine’s safety and efficacy before releasing it. Rolling out an inadequately vetted vaccine could endanger people who receive it.
See similar claims that Sputnik V is effective against the new strain but Europe refuses to buy it for political reasons; that Vaccines produced by Western pharmaceutical companies are more dangerous that the Sputnik V as the private businesses are driven by profits; that Sputnik V is the world’s first coronavirus vaccine with over 90% efficacy; and that Sputnik V vaccine will stop the pandemic.