Russia sells millions of doses of its home-made Sputnik V vaccine abroad, making it the leading supplier of a shot that could give Moscow a valuable share of the global Covid-19 vaccine market and potentially gain geopolitical influence. in Russia in developing countries.
Argentina is the first major country outside of Russia to start inoculating on a large scale with Sputnik. However, the launch there has raised questions about the lack of transparency about the effectiveness of the state-sponsored Sputnik V, which has raised some mistrust among Argentines about its safety.
Moscow approved Sputnik V for home use in August before finishing testing. Test data published since then have shown that Sputnik was 91.4% effective in protecting people against Covid-19, and a peer-reviewed study is expected to be published in the coming weeks. About a million Russians have been shot.
Other countries have rushed to buy a vaccine cheaper than Western alternatives. Sputnik V, named after the Soviet satellite launched into orbit during the Cold War, ranks third in the world in doses ordered by middle- and low-income countries, according to the Global Health Innovation Center. Duke University, ahead of U.S. drug makers Pfizer Inc. Moderna Inc. and vaccines from China. Eight countries outside Russia have authorized shooting for emergency use.
However, Sputnik V has not been approved by Western health authorities nor has it received WHO authorization, on which many developing countries depend to examine vaccines. Russia has begun talks with the European Medicines Agency on the approval of the shooting in the European Union and has sought WHO authorization.