Like many Russian citizens distrustful of the new vaccine, saying they would wait to see how things turned out before getting it themselves, I had my doubts. Then came suspicions aired in foreign reporting that the Russian government, already eyed warily in medical matters over accusations of poisoning dissidents and doping Olympic athletes, was now cooking the books on vaccine trial results, perhaps for reasons of national pride or marketing. In the end, the politicized rollout only served to obscure the essentially good trial results — what appears to be a bona fide accomplishment for Russian scientists continuing a long and storied practice of vaccine development. Russian promoters have compared the vaccine to the Kalashnikov rifle, simple and effective in its operation. In the capital, the vaccine has, paradoxically, appealed to educated people, a group that is traditionally a hotbed of political opposition to Putin, the chief promoter of the vaccine.

Source: bd News24 January 09, 2021 19:30 UTC