Skeptics saying ‘nyet’ to vaccine
Partial testing combines with Russian wariness of authority
MOSCOW — With Russia’s coronavirus cases rising sharply, authorities are banking on the country’s Sputnik V vaccine as the answer to the crisis — and opened the vaccine to the public even before it finishes Phase III trials. In the first group, health workers and teachers can start the two-dose treatment.
But there seemed to be more vaccine skeptics than takers in the first week across Russia, struggling with the fourth-highest number of cases at more than 2.5 million.
The reasons tap into both Russia’s history of wariness about authority and internet-driven conspiracy theories and pandemic deniers — reflecting similar anti-vaccine rallying cries in the United States, Germany and elsewhere.
Russian authorities also did not help their cause by issuing muddled messages about whether vaccine-takers need to avoid alcohol for weeks.
“I don’t trust it,” said mechanical engineering student Lia Shulman, 21, “because they always lie. If the government tells you to do something, you should do the opposite.”
Russia rushed to register its vaccine in the summer before it was fully evaluated in trials, which may have fueled public doubts. But deep-rooted skepticism of official promises goes back to Soviet times. Many Russians simply don’t buy the rosy picture of the vaccine painted by health authorities.
“I don’t want to be vaccinated and neither do my parents,” Shulman continued. “Most of my friends are the same.”
In Moscow’s Polyclinic No. 3, beige couches with seating for 20 were vacant on one day this week. In another Moscow clinic, No. 3 Branch 2, the morning passed with no one showing up for the shot.
In efforts to sell the vaccine to the public, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and members of Russia’s Security Council have all received it. President Vladimir Putin could not take the vaccine as a trial volunteer and would make an announcement before getting a shot, said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The less-than-enthusiastic turnout may just signify initial wariness until more information comes from the Phase III trials. But if the snub lasts for months, it could be a major setback in Russia’s efforts to control the pandemic.
Russia’s leaders see the Sputnik V vaccine as an example of Russian scientific might, keeping pace with vaccines developed in the United States, Europe and China.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which invested in the vaccine, says more than 40 countries have shown interest and there are global orders for 1.2 billion doses. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin predicted “explosive” global demand for Sputnik V on Wednesday.
Russian state media has blasted out positive propaganda about the vaccine since the summer, but many Russians remain unconvinced.
Shulman, among others, remains doubtful without clear trial data. Most information has been announced by government officials or news releases from the vaccine developers.
“I haven’t seen the results, so I don’t trust them,” she said.
So far Russian scientists have published only Phase I/II results in the British medical journal Lancet. Russian officials say the Sputnik V vaccine efficacy exceeds 95% and it is safe.
Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Tuesday became the first to publish a peer-reviewed paper in the Lancet on a full vaccine trial showing 70% efficacy, although more trials may be needed to see how well it works for people older than 55.
Some Russians also may be put off from vaccinations by the official advice to avoid alcohol for three days after each shot. But Alexander Gintsburg, head of the state-run Gamaleya research center that developed Sputnik V, declared that “a single glass of champagne never hurt anyone.”
Several officials suggested Tuesday that Russians would have to swear off alcohol and smoking for 42 days after vaccination — a statement that was swiftly walked back.