Meanwhile, it is still waiting to dispense the first Pfizer vaccine. “We reached out to the Russians and President Fernandez related directly with Putin, and this sped things up,” he told CNN.Īrgentina has so far purchased up to 25 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine and dispensed over 600,000 doses.
“When we looked at the contract, we evaluated that the ones with Pfizer did not comply with the legal protocols we expected,” Valdes said. Valdes, the Argentinian lawmaker, says negotiations with Moscow were easier than with Pfizer, from whom the Argentinian government initially planned to purchase vaccines. State-owned companies are easier to negotiate with, especially when they are pursuing political goals,” Bochkov told CNN. “It is always easier to deal with the state than with a private company, which has to hedge possible risks fearing huge losses. Russia’s readiness to strike deals has been key in spreading the vaccine across Latin America so far, according to Danil Bochkov, an expert of international relationship at the Russian International Affairs Council.
Latin American countries have been among the most affected in the world by the pandemic, but large-scale vaccination campaigns have not commenced yet, with limited exceptions.Īccording to the University of Oxford, South American countries have on average dispensed less than two doses of any coronavirus vaccine per 100 people, compared to almost five doses per 100 people in the EU and over 14 doses per 100 people in the US. The need to secure more vaccines is urgently felt in the region. And the Russians acted with enormous pragmatism,” Juan Carlos Ruiz, professor of Foreign Relationships at Bogotá’s Universidad del Rosario, told CNN.Ĭolombia will begin vaccinations this week, after receiving 50,000 doses as first shipment from Pfizer. “I think they had to bite the bullet and buy the vaccine regardless to whom they bought it from. Sboiko told CNN that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which handles Sputnik V’s commercialization, last week presented an emergency authorization request to the Colombian medical agency INVIMA, and it is ready to deliver 100,000 doses within 14 days after a purchase. It was regrettable, but we want to move on,” Sboiko said, adding, “Cooperating on the vaccines is the most pressing issue right now, and is going to positively influence bilateral relationships.” If anything, the vaccine deal could be a step toward smoothing things over. The Colombian Health Ministry declined to comment on the status of negotiations. But the expulsion “did not influence the negotiations to bring here the vaccine,” Leonid Sboiko, first secretary at the Russian Embassy in Bogotá, told CNN. Less than three months prior, Bogotá had expelled two Russian officials in unclear circumstances. The day after The Lancet’s publication on the Sputnik V, Colombia announced it was entering negotiations with Russia. In the past, right-wing members of Duque’s own party, Centro Democrático, openly criticized Putin’s involvement in Latin America.īut when the country found itself without vaccines in hand at the end of January, Duque seems to have decided to push ideology to the side.
Others are considering authorization requests, ever more urgent given the global shortage of available vaccines.Ĭolombia’s case is an example: America’s closest regional ally, Bogotá is now poised to authorize Sputnik V as well – a decision that surprised many due to the close alignment between some sectors of the government coalition and the US Republican Party. Six countries across the region – Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela – have now authorized use of the Sputnik V vaccine. Though historically seen as Washington’s geopolitical “backyard,” Latin America is increasingly turning to Moscow for help dealing with the pandemic. Healthcare workers hold national flags from Venezuela and Russia as workers unload a shipment of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb.
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