Sputnik V: in the absence of approval, Russian trips abroad to get vaccinated with Pfizer skyrocket

The “vaccination tours” abroad are the latest fashion for a part of the population of Russia, where delays for the international approval of locally produced drugs, such as the Sputnik V, lead frustrated Russians to seek to visit other countries to inoculate themselves with the doses from foreign laboratories.

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Russia it did not register any foreign-made vaccines for use. It approved four domestically produced vaccines, including the Sputnik V of two doses, that is applied in dozens of countries of the world, including in Argentina.

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But none of Russia’s vaccines are approved by the World Health Organization or the European Union.

The WHO, in fact, suspended its approval process for the Sputnik V until a factory that failed a good practice inspection is visited again, the Pan American Health Organization said last week. This has a double effect: on the one hand, it raises doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines, and also prevents people inoculated with them from traveling to European countries and, apparently, the same will happen with the United States.

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This situation also impacted on the vaccination campaign in Russia: only 34% of the population is inoculated with at least one dose.

The demand in Russia Travel allowing people to receive WHO-approved foreign vaccines has increased since that announcement last week, said Maya Lomidze, director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

Most of the trips, which cost between 600 and 850 euros, are to Serbia, with one company offering Germany as a destination. Allow customers to receive one of four different vaccines, including one developed with PfizerATOR said in a statement.

If travelers choose a two-dose vaccine, they must book two trips or an extended stay.

“Wild demand”

Anna Filatovskaya, public relations director for Russian Express, a travel agency that offers such packages, said customers choose Pfizer more often.

And he commented that his tour packages included return flights with Aeroflot, two or three nights at a hotel in Belgrade, breakfast and a trip to a clinic. The vaccine itself is free, but the travel agency registers customers to receive it, he said.

“We started selling these tours about two weeks ago. There were about 20 requests at that time“, said.

Demand skyrocketed yesterday after local media reported on the availability of the trips, he said. “This sparked a savage lawsuit”he told Reuters. He said 17 people had requested a vaccination trip yesterday alone.

Maria, a Moscow resident, said she traveled abroad this summer to get vaccinated, although she did not use one of these tours. “I trust Sputnik, but it is not recognized outside of Russia. The rules of travel in the world imply that I need an international certificate to travel for work, ”he said, and refused to give his last name out of fear.

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Deshawn