Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the registration of the vaccine against COVID-19, named Sputnik V, there has been a flood of opinions from alleged experts, politicians and unscrupulous people trying to discredit this important discovery.
Even on the so-called social networks, some comments have claimed that Russia does not have a tradition of scientific research that accredits or supports its work in this field, which in addition to being total nonsense, represents a gross ignorance of that country‘s achievements.
Therefore, I’ll share an extensive article written by Kirill Dmitriev, executive director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the institution that financed this novel medication.
According to the Sputnik website, this article was rejected by several Western media determined to hide the qualities and scientific possibilities that this vaccine offers to the world.
Dmitriev begins by explaining Russian milestones in the history of immune development that dates back to 1768, when Catherine the Great received the first smallpox vaccine, 30 years before the inoculation process began in the United States.
In 1892, the Russian scientist Dmitri Ivanovski carried out significant investigations on the effect of the tobacco mosaic virus, that later on would be vital in the emergence of the virology science.
Shortly before, in 1886, researcher Nicoláy Gamaleya opened in Russia the world's second station for vaccination against Rabies. Actually, the National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology is named after this important scientist.
During the time of the Soviet Union, a great boost was given, not only to scientific development, but also to the application of its discoveries, seeking the welfare of the people.
After World War II, every Russian citizen was immunized against poliomyelitis, diphtheria and tuberculosis.
It is simply unreasonable that anyone dares to underestimate an important advance in the global fight against a disease that already affects 20 and a half million people and has caused more than 727 thousand fatalities.
Some others just comment about the “suspicious" speed of the vaccine creation, although they ignore, or are silent about Russia working on this type of project for years now, and since 2015 specialists have been developing the techniques used in Sputnik V, based on the use of adenoviruses as an immunizing vector.
Thus, when the SARS CoV-2 appeared, it was only a matter of adapting the acquired knowledge in a new direction.
It is clear that the war against a Russian vaccine is based on politics and profit -- not for the health of humanity.