“This is a case of Russia cutting corners for big gains, big wins domestically and — they hope — internationally,” said Morrison.
“It’s high risk, this is high risk of backfiring, particularly if there’s adverse impact and if they attempt to cover them up. And this is not the normal rules of the road, and so it’s causing a lot of discomfort.”
With the vaccine, Putin is trying to evoke the long-gone “golden days” of Russian science and immunology, said Morrison, who’s also director of CSIS’ Global Health Policy Center.
The Russian president has also marketed the vaccine to other countries, including the Philippines, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, according to Morrison. That could be Putin “playing on the anxiety” among low- and middle-income countries that they would lose out to rich nations with the resources to snap up vaccines produced by major global pharmaceutical companies, he explained.
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/12/putins-plan-for-russias-coronavirus-vaccine-is-at-risk-of-backfiring-expert-says.html
Comments