| So Sputnik - V is promoting their vaccine citing the positive reviews in Lancet. What's new here? Isn't it a standard and common marketing tactic in the pharma industries? Why just the Pharma industries, even the junk food industry of the US or Tobacco industry setup their own think-tanks and finance "scientific" research that attack their critics' claim by publishing papers that contest their criticism. While the BMJ highlights concerns about the trial data Lancet has, and hints that the "third-world" country regulators may have been swayed by it, I wonder why they ignore the other simpler and obvious explanation - some "third-world" countries trust Russia's competence in biotechnology over their own. It further boosts the credibility of the Sputnik-V vaccine that Russia is vaccinating its own army and people with it. Of course, that doesn't mean the vaccine is better or safer than the alternatives available, which is a genuine concern that the paper rightly highlights. But in terms of perceptions, that's a huge deal. It should also be noted that not every regulator has blindly approved the vaccine - third-phase trials of Sputnik-V have now been completed in Russia and are also underway in India, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela among other countries. [1] As an Indian, I have confidence in the efficacy of the vaccine not only because Russia is competent in this area but also because Indian regulators have finally approved Sputnik-V's use in India. And more so because it will be manufactured locally by various vaccine makers in India: India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. RDIF has reached agreements with the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech) aimed at production of more than 850 million doses per year. [2]
(So far, in some of the countries where it is being administered, the criticism against Sputnik-V has mostly been on the quality of the vaccines manufactured. On that aspect, I would feel more confident about Sputnik-V manufactured in India - as one of the largest manufacturers of vaccine in the world, India is quite competent in this area and will have less quality control issues in the Sputnik-V doses manufactured here.[1]: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-russia-agrees-to-produce-s... [2]: https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/sputnik-v-... |