Söder wanted to buy millions of doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. But the price was exorbitantly high – and the plan was geopolitically precarious.
Munich – In spring 2021, the first vaccines against the coronavirus had only just been developed – and were accordingly in short supply. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wanted to take the lead and supply the Free State with a vaccine early on. This was to come from Russia and was called “Sputnik V”.
A letter of intent to order 2.5 million doses of Sputnik V was signed in April 2021. EU and the federal government should take care of the procurement of vaccines, the federal states should take care of the vaccination itself. Even then, there was criticism of Söder’s solo effort. The federal government was not involved in the order, despite statements to the contrary from MunichNow, according to a report, there is new criticism: the Sputnik vaccine was apparently completely overpriced.
Söder wanted Sputnik V vaccine from Russia – despite “comparatively high price”
Apparently, the Sputnik vaccine would have cost eight times as much as the vector vaccine from Astrazeneca. This is reported by the World on SundayA price of 19.90 US dollars was agreed per dose. Astrazeneca’s price, on the other hand, was only 2.30 euros per dose. Biontech’s mRNA vaccine cost 15.50 euros per dose.
“I wonder why Markus Söder wanted to pay a Russian company a comparatively high price at the time,” quotes World on Sunday the chairwoman of the Green Party in the state parliament, Katharina Schulze. The decision was also “fundamentally wrong from a geopolitical perspective”.
“What makes you do that?” Söder receives harsh criticism over vaccine intentions
Ralf Fücks, director of the think tank “Center for Liberal Modernity”, wrote in April 2021 in a Guest article for the Mirrorthat Sputnik was “not an apolitical vaccine, but a prestige project of the Russian leadership.” Even then, there were enough warning signs – namely Russian weapons and armored vehicles on the border with Ukraine. “What drives a prime minister with federal political ambitions to announce the German-Russian vaccination partnership in this situation?” asked Fücks, long-time head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Greens. The situation reminds him of the contracts for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which were signed shortly after Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. Crimea were signed.
The German branch of the Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm reportedly wanted to produce the Sputnik vaccine in Illertissen, Bavaria. If capacities there could not be ramped up quickly enough, “sourcing the vaccine imported by R-Pharm from Russia could be considered,” the letter of intent said. This would have made the company dependent on Russia.
Söder wanted millions of Sputnik V doses for Bavaria – transparency demanded
Bavaria’s Health Ministry, however, defends its decision. Russia’s attack on Ukraine about a year later was “unforeseeable,” the WorldImmediately after the invasion, Munich quickly abandoned the plans. The Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF was on the sanctions list anyway.
The Greens are now demanding answers from Söder himself, “where the Sputnik V connection came from,” Bundestag member Konstantin von Notz is quoted as saying. World on Sunday According to reports, the government in Munich is refusing to grant access to the documents relating to the Sputnik order. Accordingly, there is no “legitimate interest”, the editorial team quotes.
Sputnik V has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) due to a lack of data. In Germany, vaccination with Sputnik V does not qualify you as vaccinated. (lrg)
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