Last month, Slovakia's government collapsed after its former prime minister orchestrated a secret deal to buy 2 million Sputnik V doses, despite disagreements with his coalition partners. The European Commission, which has been securing contracts with vaccine makers on behalf of EU countries, doesn't intend to order Sputnik V, but Germany's health minister said earlier this month that Berlin plans to hold talks with Russia to see whether an individual order might make sense.Įlsewhere in the EU, Hungary in February became the first country in the bloc to start using Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm vaccine, neither of which has been approved by the EMA. Russia Accuses Slovakia of COVID Vaccine Sabotage, Demands Return of Shots.Indian City With Over 100K COVID Patients Has Only 28 Unused Ventilators.Pressured Brazil Not to Approve Sputnik COVID Vaccine Amid Global COVID Vaccine Shortages, Some Vets Have Been Using Dogs Meds.The disinformation report said pro-Kremlin media is trying to spread allegations that the EMA is postponing the review. When the EMA announced that it was studying the Russian vaccine in early March, the agency said that while it couldn't predict how long the process would take, "it should take less time than normal to evaluate an eventual application because of the work done during the rolling review." The plan, the report said, appeared to be "to undermine and fragment the common European approach of securing vaccine supplies." The EU's disinformation experts accused pro-Kremlin media outlets, including the official Sputnik V Twitter account, of trying to "undermine public trust" in the EMA and "cast doubt on its procedures and political impartiality." The report, on virus-linked disinformation seen between December and April, said that Russian officials "engage in antagonistic messaging, using disinformation to accuse the West and the EU of sabotaging the Russian vaccine." officials and said that Russia has never been involved in any disinformation campaigns targeting other countries' COVID-19 vaccines. Last month, the Kremlin rejected similar accusations by U.S. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia's sovereign wealth fund that has bankrolled Sputnik V and is in charge of marketing it abroad, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Above, a nurse shows the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 at a clinic in Moscow on December 5, 2020. The EU accused Russia on Wednesday of launching a major campaign to spread disinformation that the West and European Union are trying to sabotage its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. The EMA began a rolling review of Sputnik V last month but hasn't yet approved its use.įor more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. "The Russian campaign to promote the Sputnik V vaccine has accelerated and developed into a whole-of-government approach including state authorities, state companies and state mass media in almost daily interventions," the report said. The report also found that through social media and various news outlets, Russia has attempted to "undermine public trust" in the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Europe's main drug and vaccine regulator. In a report published by the strategic communications branch of the EU's external action service, the agency accused Russia of using "antagonistic messaging" and spreading fake news claiming that other nations are trying to undermine the shot, which has not yet been approved for use in Europe. A European Union agency on Wednesday said Russia has launched a major effort using government ministries, companies and pro-Kremlin media to spread disinformation that the West and the EU are trying to sabotage its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the Associated Press said.
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