SRINAGAR: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s Covid-19 vaccines are as safe as the country’s world-famous Kalashnikov rifle, according to Russia’s largest news agency, TASS.
President Vladimir Putin has emphasized foreign statements that Russia’s vaccines against the Coronavirus infection are as effective as the world-famous Kalashnikov rifle.
Happy to share that the first batch of the #SputnikV vaccine delivered in Hyderabad! As #RussiaIndia continue dedicated joint efforts to combat the #COVID19, this move is especially important to support the Indian Government’s endeavors to mitigate deadly 2nd wave & save lives. pic.twitter.com/0zY0bTTOKl
— Nikolay Kudashev ?? (@NKudashev) May 1, 2021
The statement was made by the Russian President during a video conference with Deputy Prime Minister, Tatyana Golikova. “Our medications are based on technologies and platforms that have been used literally for decades. They are also very modern and up-to-date, and undoubtedly, they are the most reliable and the safest,” he said. Further emphasizing on the issue, he added “They are as reliable as an AK-47. By the way, it wasn’t us who said that, this was said by a European specialist. And I think that he is certainly right.”
However, he claims that on global markets, the competition between various pharmaceutical manufacturers has recently become very fierce. “So, I understand that global platforms decided to support America’s Moderna vaccine, which Pfizer, the other American-European company, is competing against, and it is competing quite aggressively on the market,” he pointed out.
“As far as I understand, even from reports by our specialists and colleagues from abroad, in the US, [they] say that this will be a completely innovative drug, a very modern one,” Putin noted, expressing hope that the experts are not mistaken.
While stressing on the fact that Russian vaccines, including the Sputnik Light are based on technologies he stated, “Actually, whether this really is the case will become clear only after about ten years following long-term use and the analysis of the results.” which as per him “ have been used for decades.”
Earlier, stated that Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the Coronavirus infection demonstrated efficacy and reliability comparable to the characteristics of a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), over 20 million people worldwide have been vaccinated with first component of Sputnik V as of May 5.
Earlier this year, Florian Thalhammer, chief infectious disease specialist at the Medical University of Vienna and Chairman of the Austrian Society for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (OEGIT), claimed that Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the Coronavirus infection demonstrated effectiveness and reliability comparable to those of a Kalashnikov assault weapon.
“Sputnik V is like an AK-47, a Russian rifle, it is simple, reliable and effective. The encouraging data was published in a highly respected journal, late, but nonetheless. During the first and second jabs different viral vectors are used, which boosts the effectiveness,” the professor had said in an interview.
Its important to mention here that, Sputnik V is among the three Covid-19 vaccines currently approved for emergency use in India.
As per a report published in the Hindustan Times on May 6th, it has been put out that in the next two days, Russia will be sending another 150,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, while another three million doses will arrive in Hyderabad by the end of May. Moreover, Moscow has agreed to increase the number of Sputnik V vaccine doses to over five million next month and over ten million in July.
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Sputnik-V vaccine arrives in Hyderabad from Russia! Will add to ??'s arsenal to fight the pandemic. This third option will augment our vaccine capacity & accelerate our vaccination drive. pic.twitter.com/1G5stq5WjS— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 1, 2021
“According to diplomats based in New Delhi and Moscow, Russia is sending at least four medium oxygen generating trucks, which can feed a 200-bed hospital after being plugged into the power supply. These trucks produce 70 kilograms of oxygen per hour and 50,000 litres per day so that there is no paucity of oxygen at the hospital to which they are attached. “We have already procured four such trucks and getting more so that oxygen paucity is reduced. These trucks will be landing by Russian IL-76 aircraft by the end of this week,” Hindustan Times quoted a diplomat saying.
“The first batch of 150,000 doses of Sputnik V arrived on May 1, the day when India opened its third phase of vaccination to people between the age group of 18 to 44 years. Sputnik V is based on human adenoviral vectors, is one of three vaccines (the other two are Pfizer and Moderna) that have an efficacy of over 90 per cent against the coronavirus disease, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2. It was given regulatory approval or restricted use authorisation in India on April 12,” reads the report further.
As the first batch of the Sputnik-V vaccine arrived in Hyderabad on 1st May, Russia’s Ambassador to Indi, Nikolay Kudashev took to the micro-blogging site twitter and wrote,
“Happy to share that the first batch of the #SputnikV vaccine delivered in Hyderabad! As #RussiaIndia continue dedicated joint efforts to combat the #COVID19, this move is especially important to support the Indian Government’s endeavors to mitigate deadly 2nd wave & save lives.”
