The Russians will not be left without Sputnik – Newspaper Kommersant No. 39 (7484) of 03/07/2023

Last weekend in Moscow and some other regions, the first component of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine suddenly disappeared and also suddenly appeared. The website of the mayor of the capital informed about the shortage, informing citizens about vaccination. Until Monday, it was possible to get vaccinated only with the second component of Sputnik, now the entire set is already available, but there are no other vaccines. In the regions, Kommersant learned, they are also vaccinated only with a drug developed by the center. Gamaleya. However, according to market experts, only 5% of the volumes needed in 2021 are required this year. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Pasteur even proposes to move from mass vaccination to individual.

Saturday at the Mayor’s website Moscowinforming citizens about vaccination against coronavirus, there were reports that in the presence of remained only the second component of the two-component preparation “Sputnik V”. The Russian Ministry of Health promptly reported that batches of the vaccine had been distributed and had already been sent to Moscow and a number of other regions that “reported a decrease in residues.”

Indeed, by Monday, judging by the data of the same site, in Moscow there were both components of Sputnik.

In the capital’s health department, Kommersant confirmed that “the first component of the vaccine from the Russian Ministry of Health has been delivered to Moscow medical institutions.” The department of health clarified that they are constantly monitoring the availability of the vaccine, and the data on the need for deliveries are “timely” transferred to the medical department. At the same time, get vaccinated with other Russian drugs – “EpiVakKorona” from the “Vector” center of Rospotrebnadzor and “KoviVakom” from the center named after. MP Chumakov RAS – Muscovites have not been able to for quite a long time. EpiVacCorona, according to the mayor’s office’s website, “is currently over, registration for vaccination with this drug has been suspended,” and the CoviVac vaccine is not available – the drug is expected to be delivered from the Russian Ministry of Health.

In other regions, Kommersant found out, you can also get vaccinated only with Sputnik V.

Yes, the Ministry of Health Tatarstan reported that recently this vaccine has been used exclusively “as the most effective, which can be used both in two components and separately.” The Russian Ministry of Health suggests using the first component for revaccination; The Department of Health of Moscow stated that the second component can also be used independently for these purposes (they differ in that they are made on the basis of different adenoviruses – carrier viruses). The Ministry of Health of Tatarstan assured that they have a “sufficient supply of vaccine”: according to officials, there are 13,000 sets of Sputnik V in the region. in the Ministry of Health Republic of Crimea also reported that in the “soon” they expect the supply of only this drug from the federal center – other types of vaccine “are not and are not expected.”

As for the availability of Sputnik V, apparently, the vaccine is delivered to the regions on a regular basis. March 6 Deputy Prime Minister Udmurtia Elvira Pinchuk, who oversees the healthcare system, told Telegram about a new batch of 5,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. According to Mrs. Pinchuk, so far the stock of the first component in the republic has been exhausted.

IN Bashkiria, according to information from the regional ministry, 49,000 doses of Sputnik V were received on Monday. Ministry of Health Nizhny Novgorod region expects delivery in the near future – now the region’s medical facilities are using “the remaining doses of the vaccine in a small amount from the last delivery.” On the health committee Petersburg “Kommersant” explained that for about a year the city has been using exclusively the Sputnik V vaccine. Because of this, there was indeed a shortage of the drug in St. Petersburg for several days, but only in a few clinics. Those wishing to be vaccinated were recorded in a queue, and when the vaccine arrived at the medical facility, they were invited to be vaccinated. At the moment, Kommersant was told in the Kommersant of Health, there are no problems with the first component of the vaccine in St. Petersburg: on March 3, 32 thousand doses were delivered to the city.

Kommersant asked the Ministry of Health to explain whether the deficit that has arisen in some regions is connected with the intensification of the vaccination campaign or with a decrease in production volumes, but at the time of publication did not receive an answer.

Nikolai Bespalov, development director at RNC Pharma, told Kommersant that vaccines were indeed “practically not produced” last year. In particular, the production volumes of Sputnik fell, according to him, by 95-98%, EpiVacKorona was not produced at all in 2022. The only vaccine whose production has grown is KoviVac. However, Mr. Bespalov calls it “niche”: if “Sputnik” was produced in tens of millions of doses, then “KoviVak” – hundreds of thousands. The decrease in production volumes is due to the fact that during 2022 the demand of the population for vaccination decreased, and the available stocks “allowed not to worry about the availability of the vaccine.” Now, suggested Nikolai Bespalov, “the desynchronization of supply and demand” provoked a shortage. “However, this is not a global problem. Production capacities have been preserved, and production can be restored quickly. And besides, it is not needed in such volumes as before. Now one-twentieth of the volume that was needed in 2021 is required,” Bespalov commented.

An epidemiologist, director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at the European University at St. Petersburg, Anton Barchuk, previously told Kommersant that in the context of the spread of omicron subvariants, it is important to vaccinate people with weakened immune systems (with chronic diseases), the elderly, pregnant women, and healthcare workers. In addition, in his opinion, those who have not done this before should be vaccinated. For citizens who have already been vaccinated and recovered and at the same time do not have serious health problems, a new vaccination will not greatly reduce the risk of a severe course – it is already quite low. “There are studies in the world that show that protection against a severe course – and we must now separate protection from a severe course and from the infection itself – after vaccination persists for quite a long time, and so far we do not see a trend that it disappears in people who have no comorbidities or other aggravating factors. In this situation, a person should make a decision on another vaccination against coronavirus by himself, weighing the risks and benefits,” said Mr. Barchuk.

Director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Pasteur Areg Totolyan said on Monday that the institute’s scientists consider it “appropriate” to make a phased transition from mass vaccination from COVID-19 to individual, taking into account the level of immunity of each patient.

“Today, the position of our institute is that it is necessary to move to the individualization of vaccination, to an individual approach, and this is the aim of a simple test intended for mass use to assess specific T-cell immunity,” he said. According to Mr. Totolyan, this development of the Research Institute. Pasteur called “CoronaDerm-PS” has passed the first two phases of clinical trials and is being registered with the Russian Ministry of Health.

Natalya Kostarnova; corset “b”