07/23/2021 15:00
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 07/23/2021 3:22 PM
In the midst of the controversy over the delay in the arrival of the second component of Sputnik V and the claim that the Government made to the Russian Direct Investment Fund through a letter, the former vice president and current opposition senator, Julio Cobos, asked him to the Executive to study the possibility of starting
a new scheme with vaccines from other laboratories
for those who received only the first dose.
In other words, he requested that all those who have a dose of the Russian vaccine and have already completed the three-month wait to receive component two, can be vaccinated with one of the other doses that are available, such as AstraZeneca, Sinopharm or Modern
According to official data, 9,375,670 doses of component 1 and 2,493,160 of component 2 were applied in the country. Thus, there
are 6,882,510 people waiting to complete the
vaccination
schedule
.
Through a communication project, Cobos asked the Executive Power for information on the details of the contract that the Argentine State signed with Russia.
The Mendoza leader pointed out that "all the deadlines for the efficient application of the second dose to achieve adequate immunization have expired, according to the information provided by the developer of the vaccine" and that "there is no certainty about the arrival of the second dose".
"Faced with the situation, it is necessary to analyze whether it is not more convenient, both from a health and economic point of view, to
start a new vaccination scheme
for those people who received the first dose of Sputnik V, with vaccines in stock from other laboratories "Cobos remarked.
And he added: "In particular, it should be analyzed if this is possible and, if necessary,
move forward with that decision as soon as possible
. The health of Argentines cannot depend on the will of a Russian official or bureaucrat."
In the same vein, he spoke on Twitter, where he asked: "What cost is greater for the population: keep waiting and the two doses are separated without completing the scheme or starting a new one with other vaccines? What are the penalties? What does the contract with the Russian Fed Fund contemplate in the event of non-delivery of the 2nd dose? ".
What cost is greater for the population: keep waiting and the two doses are separated without completing the scheme or starting a new one with other vaccines?
What are the penalties contemplated in the contract with the Russian Fed Fund for non-delivery of the 2nd dose?
- Julio Cobos (@juliocobos) July 22, 2021
Cobos said that "there is concern about the impact of the possible arrival of the Delta variant (with the highest rate of contagion) in the part of society that does not have a complete vaccination scheme, all due to
non-compliance or the lack of necessary foresight
.
"
Concerned about the delay in the arrival of the second component of the Russian vaccine, which has millions of people waiting for months to complete the scheme, was added the letter with which the Government claimed the Russian Fund for Direct Investment the sending more doses and even threatened to cancel the contract.
It was Cecilia Nicolini, the adviser to President Alberto Fernández, who wrote the letter that he sent via email to Anatoly Braverman, the right hand of the owner of that fund.
Alberto Fernández with Cecilia Nicolini, who was key in the negotiation with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
In that note, Nicolini, who led the negotiations in Moscow with Carla Vizzotti to buy the vaccines developed by the Gamaleya Institute, reported a
"critical" situation due to the impossibility of completing the
vaccination schedules.
"As I mentioned to you today, we are in a very critical situation. We were hopeful that, after the conversation that you, Carla, Kirill and I had a couple of weeks ago, things were going to get better. But they have gotten worse." points to the letter.
Hours after the letter was made public by mail, from Russia they assured that they never read it and that they found out from the media.
Sources in the health area who are aware of the negotiations between Argentina and Russia for vaccines assured
Clarín
that in Moscow they did not take into account Nicolini's request, and that the shipment of vaccines that arrived a few days later -that includes some doses of the second component - it was remitted only when the Russian authorities considered it appropriate to do so.
Look also
The option to the deficit of Sputnik V: the results of the studies to combine it will be in August
AstraZeneca's vaccine is "highly effective" against Delta and Beta variants