DISINFO: EU made a mistake abandoning Sputnik-V
SUMMARY
The European Union made a mistake in its assessment of abandoning the Russian vaccine, "Sputnik V". European countries dealt coldly with the importance of the Russian vaccine and were not enthusiastic about it because it is Russian, without taking into account the laboratory results and this also applies to the Norwegian government.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin echoed disinformation about the EU, vaccination and the current EMA rolling review of Sputnik V, trying to link the Sputnik V authorisation process to Russophobia.
From 4 March 2021, Sputnik V vaccine is under the rolling review of the European Medicines Agency, and the decision will be fully decided on a scientific not a political basis.
Criticism and mistrust of the Sputnik V vaccine were not due to any alleged Russophobia but to the publication of incomplete or questionable data about it, surrounded by a disinformation campaign about this and other vaccines.
This campaign was launched after the original announcement about the Sputnik V was met with scepticism and criticism even by Russian specialists in the country. Experts' reports concluded that Russia has perceived the development of a coronavirus vaccine in terms of geopolitical and economic gain.
On February 2, 2021, interim results from a phase 3 trial of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine were finally published in The Lancet. The trial results show a consistent strong protective effect across all participant age groups, meaning that the Sputnik V vaccine candidate appears safe and effective. This is what led to a general change in the approach towards Sputnik V.
Furthermore, Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg was straight forward saying that her country “is open to buying the Sputnik-V vaccine” once approved by the EMA.
See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Sputnik V is a target of the corporate cold war; or that the West wants to discredit the Sputnik V; or that mass fatality will show up in Italy to discredit Sputnik V; or that the EMA will try to postpone the authorisation of Sputnik-V; or that Finns are choosing Sputnik V for vaccination.