Year of the Plague – 27 – The Russian COVID-19 Vaccine – Sputnik V – Universally Rejected in the West. More anti-Russian Hysteria or Legitimate Concern?

COVID -19 vaccine vials developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow. Phony vaccine – or “the real thing”?

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According to Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian financier and investor, defending the Russian announcement, Russia has been working on developing anti-Coronavirus vaccines since 1980, that is to say for forty years. Remember that COVID-19 is the 19th form of the Coronavirus that includes the common cold and different manifestations of flu. In an article published by Sputnik, a Russian news source, but blackballed to date by the Russian media, Dmitriev claims that Russia has already received orders for a billion doses of the Russian vaccine and has concluded international agreements to produce 500 million doses with the intention to produce more. 

Bill Gates must be in a tizzy!

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Until a few days ago, when the subject came up with some old “Radical Information Project” friends “on a Zoom” discussion, I knew nothing about the fact that the Russians had developed a vaccine to treat COVID-19, the condition caused by the Coronavirus that has reached epidemic proportions. Grave concern was expressed about what the Russians are up to. Once again.

From what I had followed – general information – there has been nothing short of an international scientific stampede in which enormous sums of money can be made or lost by whomever develops a successful vaccine – if that is even possible – and that such “race to the finish” – essentially between bio-tech firms, pharmaceuticals etc, because of the urgency, would probably be down and dirty. Was not surprised that the Russians would be involved.

It is more than a little unsettling – and already very well known to anyone following this thread – that all the major players – from the President himself, to Fauci, Bill Gates, the WHO, the pharmaceuticals – that they are ALL invested in one or another of what each hopes to be the “magic bullet” technical fix cure for this worldwide epidemic; have the Russians been any more “irresponsible” in this effort than others? What do I know? All the same – in the current hysteria against Russia combined with lightening fast manner that the United States has rejected Russian assertions that the vaccine is safe – I have to wonder.

They issue came to a head this morning when Russian President Putin announced that the Russian has approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, that it was registered as such internationally and will soon go into mass production. Developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, the vaccine has been named Sputnik-V, a reference to the surprise 1957 launch of the world’s first satellite by the Soviet Union. It has yet to go through crucial Phase 3 trials where it would be administered to thousands of people.

The announcement has caused nothing short of an uproar in the West, especially in the United States.

The main arguments given against the Russian vaccine are that it hasn’t gone through vital “Phase 3” tests and that 2000 – the number of humans that will be tested with the Russian vaccine is not adequate. Nature (online) headlined “Russia fast-track coronavirus vaccine draws outrage over safety.” NPR, somewhat more subdued – but with essentially the same message – led off with “Skepticism Greets Putin’s Announcement Of Russian Coronavirus Vaccine.” A number of articles have appeared in major news outlets (NY Times, Washington Post) suggesting the Russia vaccine nothing less than a sham, that it has been poorly tested on humans and, in fact, as a result could be quite dangerous if administered on a broad international level. In what appears to be something of a panicked response, the NY Times ran not one but two articles on the Russian vaccine. The first was entitled “Russia Approves Coronavirus Vaccine Before Completing Tests.” The essence of this article is that pretty much every country “in the West” has rejected this vaccine for the above reasons and has rejected Russian offers to share it. As if to add emphasis, a few hours later, the Times published a second article “‘This Is All Beyond Stupid.’ Experts Worry About Russia’s Rushed Vaccine.”

Undoubtedly, in a classic example of what Chomsky and Herman wrote about how the state and mainstream media “manufacture consent” this line of thinking will be picked up by the major media and repeated ad nauseum. I am skeptical of where all this is going. I do not have sufficient scientific information or background to draw any conclusions scientifically and admit it. The whole weight of the developing mainstream narrative is that the Russians, a la Sputnik, wanted to beat the West to the punch developing a vaccine and that theirs is a political move not based on science. The Trump Administration, which has done more to undermine and discredit scientific research in the USA is suddenly accusing the Russians of being unscientific and political!

The Russians have rejected these accusations.

According to Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian financier and investor, defending the Russian announcement, Russia has been working on developing anti-Coronavirus vaccines since 1980, that is to say for forty years. Remember that COVID-19 is the 19th form of the Coronavirus that includes the common cold and different manifestations of flu. In an article published by Sputnik, a Russian news source, but blackballed to date by the Russian media, Dmitriev claims that Russia has already received orders for a billion doses of the Russian vaccine and has concluded international agreements to produce 500 million doses with the intention to produce more. 

Bill Gates must be in a tizzy!

I would simply note a few points at this juncture.

While it might not be generally known – after all what is known, appreciated about Russia (or the former USSR) these days – is that Russia has a world leader in vaccine research and anti-viral remedies for centuries with scientific pioneers like Dmitri Ivanovski and Nikolaï Gamaleïa who studied at Paris’ Pasteur Institute leading the way. This tradition continued during the period of Soviet Communism and was so respected that even at the height of the Cold War, three Soviet scientists were granted entry into the USA to help develop the vaccine against polio. Today, nearly thirty years after the collapse of the USSR, Russia retains the largest library on viruses in the world. Why would Russia ruin its reputation in this sphere by putting out a sloppy product?

Dmitriev’s article does not specify the countries that have already ordered their vaccine. Who are they? Are they acting responsibly? Would they risk the health of their citizens for a cheap, quick fix?

More soon on this to follow.