Russia, China or the United States? The Country Email List search for a vaccine against covid-19 is becoming a geostrategic battlefield. Johannes Varwick, specialized analyst, explains the risks and collateral effects of this competition. Competence in the laboratory</p> Interview with Johannes Varwick We are currently experiencing a Country Email List global race to produce a vaccine against the coronavirus. Russia is the first country to have approved one. At the same time, warnings about the effects of this competition are multiplying. What Country Email List role does reputational concern play in the critical reactions to Russia's vaccine that have emerged in the United States and Europe?
Of course we are facing a race for the Country Email List vaccine and it is a matter of national prestige, but very specific national interests are also at stake. As far as we know, Russia has approved the vaccine without having adhered to the standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO). Using the vaccine on a large scale without waiting for Country Email List the results of clinical trials sounds like a human experiment. Only an authoritarian system like Russia can afford it, it would be inconceivable in Western democracies. With this background, it is not yet possible to predict whether the Russian vaccine – which the Russians will probably Country Email List call “Sputnik V” – is effective or, on the contrary, harmful.
Whether the Russians' unconventional Country Email Listprocedure will succeed remains to be seen. If Russia becomes the first country with effective protection against covid-19 and makes it available to its population, it will actually have Country Email List something of "Sputnik", as in the 1950s, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite terrestrial artificial. Russia would then have an advantage in a technological race that would bring prestige and Country Email List economic benefits.