Sputnik jab proves ineffective against resistant Russians

Russia is among the countries worst-hit by the Covid pandemic and a devastating wave this autumn has seen infections and deaths reach new records, with more than 1,000 fatalities per day.

But while the country has several locally produced vaccines including Sputnik V, only about a third of its population has been inoculated.

With global coronavirus fatalities soon set to top five million, the scepticism of Russians underlines the difficulties that remain in the global fight against Covid.

Sputnik V was announced with great fanfare last year by President Vladimir Putin as the first registered coronavirus vaccine and is freely available at clinics and vaccination centres across the country.

Meant as a showcase for Russian science that would quickly turn the page on the pandemic in the country, it has failed to win over the public, with polls showing fewer than half of people planning to get vaccinated.

Sputnik V has been administered to millions of people and both its effectiveness and safety have been confirmed by respected medical journal The Lancet.

But with current policies failing to reduce cases, authorities have imposed a nationwide non-working week from October 30 to November 7.

Mandatory jabs have also been required for some service workers and there are increasing moves towards requiring vaccination certificates for public venues.

But sceptical Russians are finding ways around that too, with a thriving market in fake Covid passes.

The Kremlin has put out increasingly desperate calls for Russians to get vaccinated, with Putin in mid-October asking them to "please, show responsibility".

The Kremlin "needs to win back people's confidence" if it wants to prevail in the vaccination battle, he said, by putting in place a "more coherent policy" after months of vacillating between warnings and inaction.

With hospitalisations on the rise and Russia's health system stretched, doctors say the best ambassadors for vaccination may be those who are treated for serious cases of Covid.