India has approved Sputnik V vaccine - the only foreign made vaccine on Indian market.

[Moses]

Russians don't seem too keen on Sputnik 5.

Not to Sputnik, but to any vaccination, not limited to COVID. It is known phenomenon: when something is free and is available everywhere, then nobody count as a thing and everyone says "oh, I will do it tomorrow, or after tomorrow, or after-after tomorrow..." Every autumn they starts campaign for flu vaccination. We see ads in shops, cinemas, metro, on TV and in Internet, even in private taxis. And every time they have only 5-10% of population who got vaccination.

Any vaccine is available in any govt clinic in Russia, for free. You just need to visit your local doctor and ask for vaccination, visit is also free.

Govt is thinking about to give some preferences to vaccinated, but every time it meets critics from human rights activists "you cannot discriminate non vaccinated"...

[goji]

As I'm fairly sure I said before, I don't doubt the ability of the Russians to design a good vaccine.

What I do doubt is Mr Putin's government approvals process, particularly where they declared it safe before trials were done. Perhaps this is why the Russian population also distrust the vaccine.

As far as I can tell, India approved the Russian vaccine after conducting it's own trials in India. Since that ought to be reasonably independent of Mr Putin, this would overcome my previous objections.
So if I needed a vaccine and only Sputnik were available, I'd probably take it.

However, I don't need a vaccine, as I've had AZN.

Again referring to the topic title, I presume the main reason why there is only one foreign made vaccine on the market in India, is they have one of their own and another generously licensed out from the UK for manufacture in India.
The latter is a much more significant help, as it allows India to manufacture at serious scale.

The same vaccine was licensed out from the UK for manufacture in Thailand. Without the same progress by Thailand.

[StevieWonders]

As I'm fairly sure I said before, I don't doubt the ability of the Russians to design a good vaccine.

What I do doubt is Mr Putin's government approvals process, particularly where they declared it safe before trials were done. Perhaps this is why the Russian population also distrust the vaccine.

Western analysis published widely in serious print media takes the view that Russia and China’s refusal to go through the same process for their vaccines as Western drug companies is part of a larger tactic. That analysis holds that Russia and China have deliberately chosen to abandon the post-WW2 idea of a rules-based international way of doing things because it is what underpins the “Western” style of government and international affairs. Part of that is the complete opposition to transparency. Its tactics include sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt about events and processes in the democratic societies, mostly by using “false equivalence” and presenting isolated examples as if they are typical examples.

[StevieWonders]

The same vaccine was licensed out from the UK for manufacture in Thailand. Without the same progress by Thailand.

Can we look forward to your usual penetrating analysis about the principal cause of this?

[dinagam]

It is known phenomenon: when something is free and is available everywhere, then nobody count as a thing and everyone says "oh, I will do it tomorrow, or after tomorrow, or

India is to an extent a very traditional country where the majority Hindus still believe in the teaching and the healing powers of their gurus and holy priests for any disease or pandemic. What is soothing to the ears and the eyes will give them hope, even if it comes from a bell dangling on the penis of a holy man. One for the road, mate. Vaccine can wait!

[Nirish guy]

India Covid: Kumbh Mela pilgrims turn into super-spreaders

"When millions of devout Hindus gathered last month in the Himalayan town of Haridwar to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival even as India battled a devastating second wave of coronavirus, many feared that it would turn out to be a "super-spreader event". Those fears, it now seems, are coming true.......... 60 of the 61 - or 99% - returnees tested in a town in central Madhya Pradesh state were found to be infected. Officials are now frantically looking for 22 others who are missing " ......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-57005563

I cant think WHAT might have caused that to happen ......
india.jpg

[StevieWonders]

Even more from India - cow dung does not protect against COVID-19 even if cows are sacred -

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/...re-2021-05-11/

[Khor tose]

I am not going to speculate on "whatever his crazy name is this year" insane theory on why Russia does anything. The science is in and it is on line for all to see. if you do no0t want to look it up here it is in very short form:
1. Sputnik V is the most effective drug out there for Covid 19.
2. It also has turned out to be the most effective against the many Covid variants including the Indian one.

Now it was tested in violation of normal standards, but more power to them for doing so. It was an emergency and this is not a new technique. For god sake the research was first done years ago by a women in Romania (Katalin Kariko). By 2005 she developed the technique, went on to help develop the pfizer vaccine. Moderna had no plans to use messenger RNA as a vaccine until covid. Smart Russian's bio-geneticist listened to brilliant women scientist long before Western scientist who actually ignored (sic) mere women scientist's research. Okay Moses, now tell us how messenger RNA was really invented by Stalin in 1933 as a weekend project for the glory of the revolution.

[goji]

I thought Sputnik was a modified Adenovirus vaccine, not an mRNA vaccine ?

[Moses]

I thought Sputnik was a modified Adenovirus vaccine, not an mRNA vaccine ?

Yes, it is. And for now it is only modified adenovirus vaccine against COVID in World with efficacy over 90% and still officially warranted 100% protection against severe sickness.