Ukraine crisis stalls global vaccination
Hi Health Deskers,
Today we have a special forecast for you on how Russian sanctions are expected to impact vaccine roll-outs in many countries. Written by our in-house health expert Jenna Sherman, we hope this breakdown can shed some light on just one of the ways that the crisis intersects with public health.
Here’s what Jenna says:
As the assault continues in Ukraine, health experts are growing concerned about the impact of Russian sanctions on the vaccine supply chain.
A number of countries and governing bodies globally, such as the U.S., the U.K, and the E.U., have implemented sanctions against a number of Russian-based entities as penalty for invading Ukraine, including the sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
RDIF financially backs the two-dose vaccine Sputnik V and the one-dose vaccine cousin of Sputnik V known as Sputnik Light. Though neither vaccine is approved by the WHO, they are approved for emergency use by a number of countries; Sputnik V in particular, is approved by 70 countries, including Argentina, India, and Mexico, where millions of doses have been distributed. As a result, vaccine manufacturing plans are stalled.
Though there are still few details on exactly how sanctions may affect Sputnik V contracts, sanctions on the RDIF and, in turn, Russia’s use of international financial service SWIFT, make it difficult for countries to pay Russia for their vaccine shares.
Millions of people who have only been given a first dose of the Sputnik vaccine are now in limbo on whether or not they will be able to get a second dose. Fortunately, new research has emerged indicating that alternative vaccines (such as Pfizer, Moderna, and possibly AstraZeneca) can be used as the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine. This is positive news for countries that are facing supply problems of Sputnik V.
Also as a result of the crisis, WHO approval of Sputnik now seems less likely. Moscow’s Gamaleya Federal Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology – the producer of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light – applied for WHO emergency use authorization in December 2021 and was planning to have an inspection of their manufacturing process from the WHO in February. This inspection has been delayed by the WHO due to obstacles related to the war.
If you found this short breakdown helpful, let us know by emailing us at health@meedan.com. We love to hear your thoughts on how to make this newsletter the most useful to you. As always, visit health-desk.org for the latest health and science explainers.