DISINFO: The EU is discrediting Sputnik V without arguments
SUMMARY
The EU is trying to discredit Sputnik V and avoid its approval. The defamation of the Russian vaccine by the EU shows that Brussels has no arguments. Similar baseless allegations have been made more than once. This is proof that the issue is painful for the European Union. Brussels did not find any substantive arguments against Sputnik V.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative trying to link the Sputnik V authorisation process to Russophobia.
There is credible evidence that the Russian government pressed Russian scientists and researchers to be the first in the world to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, and did everything to shorten the process, raising concerns about the safety and efficiency of the Sputnik V vaccine. Experts' reports conclude that Russia has perceived the development of a coronavirus vaccine in terms of geopolitical and economic gain.
Reservations and criticism of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine stem from the fact that in this process Russia did not complete 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.
The EMA is committed to applying the same regulatory approach and scientific rigor to all vaccine applications that meet European requirements for safety, efficacy and quality and is in dialogue with more than 50 vaccine developers from across the globe, including the Sputnik V developers from Russia. The EMA has initiated the rolling review of Sputnik V on 4 March 2021, and the approval decision will be made on a scientific, not political basis. The evaluation can take up to 150 working days and is a work in progress.
See other examples of these pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Western attacks on the Russian coronavirus vaccine are a corporate cold war against humanity or Russian progress in COVID-19 vaccine has become for the West an outrageous challenge, that Sputnik V is a target of the corporate cold war; that the West wants to discredit the Sputnik V.