Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine is embraced abroad and sunk at home

Behind the skepticism are lingering doubts about the rapid development of Sputnik V and a deep-seated distrust of the authorities derived from the country’s Soviet past. Surveys, for example, show that many Russians believe the coronavirus is an artificial biological weapon. At the same time, polls indicate a strong current of disbelief of Covid-19 in Russia.

Although coronavirus infections in Russia have been declining, the slow acceptance of the vaccine leaves the country vulnerable to a new wave. Russia has had more than four million infections, the fourth highest in the world. Vaccination hesitation runs the risk of undermining the government’s goal of inoculating about 60% of the population in the summer.

“We were up to par with everyone else in the development of the vaccine, but now we are behind in administering it,” said Anton Gopka, dean of the Faculty of Technology Management and Innovation at St. Petersburg ITMO University and partner general of the health investment firm ATEM Capital. “In the end, the big risk is that it will prolong the pandemic here.”

This is not a concern for Vadim Ivanov, a 55-year-old driver in the maintenance department of the city of St. Petersburg. He does not trust the government or the health care system and believes the threat of Covid-19 is excessive.

“I don’t get vaccinated because I don’t believe in the coronavirus; it’s deception, “said Ivanov, who doesn’t usually wear a mask and rarely practices social distancing.” People say it’s all nonsense, it’s all crazy, it’s all made up. “

To speed up deployment, Russian authorities dismissed priority vaccination groups and opened the inoculation campaign to everyone in January. Vaccination centers have been set up in dining areas, opera houses and shopping malls, and some establishments offer free ice cream for every shot.

“There is no shortage of vaccines,” said Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman. “But you can’t say there’s a rush” to get a shot, he said. Officials expect Sputnik V’s demand to increase as more Russians learn about the benefits of the vaccine. In addition to Sputnik V, Russia has approved two other Covid-19 vaccines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who regularly praises the vaccine on national television and elevates it in his conversations with foreign leaders, has not yet vaccinated himself. The Kremlin has said Putin plans to get vaccinated in late summer or early fall after consulting with doctors.

“The government needs to do a better job communicating the benefits of the vaccine,” Gopka said. “And, of course, people would be more comfortable if the head of state took it.”

The challenges of pushing forward Russia’s vast land mass amid harsh winter conditions have also hampered the campaign. On Thursday, Putin said nine of Russia’s 85 regions had not begun vaccinating.

Sputnik V’s shot has faced challenges from the start. It was approved in August, a few months after development began and before large-scale clinical trials were conducted. Then, when Russia began deploying it in December, production problems meant that the country could only administer a fraction of the doses that officers had initially promised.

An expert-reviewed study, published last month in the British medical journal Lancet, showed the vaccine was 91.6% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and had no serious side effects. Meanwhile, Russian drug manufacturers have intensified production. In fact, some analysts expect an excess of vaccines if demand does not increase.

Abroad, Russia has conducted a public relations campaign, including posting video updates in English and maintaining a Twitter account for Sputnik V. According to US officials, the agencies Russian intelligence agencies have launched a campaign to undermine confidence in Pfizer Inc

and other Western vaccines, through online publications that in recent months have questioned the development and safety of vaccines. The Kremlin denies these allegations.

More than 40 other countries have authorized Sputnik V for emergency use. Members of the European Union, Slovakia and Hungary, have approved Sputnik V and on Thursday the bloc’s drug regulator began a formal evaluation that could lead to the authorization of the shooting.

But many Russians are not convinced.

A poll released this week by independent pollster Levada Center showed that only 30% of Russians are willing to receive a shot against Sputnik V, up from 38% in December, with many concerns about possible side effects and doubts about clinical trials.

“The vaccine has not yet been fully tested and [the mass vaccination campaign] it is in fact a mass trial against the residents of Russia without their knowledge, ”said Tatyana Andreyeva, a 39-year-old Kaliningrad human resources director. He said he will not be inoculated.

Mrs. Andreyeva’s 10-year-old son became ill with Covid-19 last October, but recovered quickly without infecting the rest of the family. “I don’t consider Covid to be a serious and highly contagious disease,” he said.

Globally, Russians rank among the biggest skeptics of the vaccine. An Ipsos poll published in February showed that 42% of Russians would be vaccinated, compared to 71% in the US and 57% in France.

In addition to doubts about Sputnik V itself, analysts cite a general lack of confidence in the authorities and the healthcare system.

Only 37% of Russians are satisfied with the quality of their health care system, compared to a world average of 65%, according to a 2019 Gallup survey.

After the end of the Soviet Union, funding for the health care system collapsed, many highly skilled medical professionals emigrated, and medical research slowed. In 2010, the government launched an ambitious plan to improve the quality of health care in Russia and improve medical facilities. But in 2019, the number of available hospitals and beds declined and officials said the quality of services had deteriorated dramatically.

“No one has touched the infrastructure of the system since the late 1950s,” Veronika Skvortsova, then Minister of Health, said in 2019.

Distrust in the government is a legacy of Russia’s communist past, when Russians ’suspicion of authorities led many to rely on word of mouth and other informal informal sources, according to Margarita Zavadskaya, a researcher in political science at the University. European of St. Petersburg.

The Levada survey found that two-thirds of respondents believed the coronavirus was an artificial biological weapon. Among Russians who often rely on family and friends for information, nearly three-quarters believe it is a biological weapon.

“There is an extremely low pattern of trust in all kinds of official authorities, other political institutions and the health care system,” Ms. Zavadskaya.

Ms. Andreyeva from Kaliningrad said she tries to avoid relying on Russian health in general.

“There’s no help there, with few exceptions,” he said. “The principle is: help yourself.”

—Valentina Ochirova contributed to this article.

Write to Georgi Kantchev to [email protected]