MEASURES. The new rules will go into effect in November. | Photo: Efe.
The Joe Biden administration announced last week that it will soon allow the entry of foreigners vaccinated against the coronavirus. He plans to relax the restrictions for wide swaths of visitors for the first time since the pandemic began, however, people fully immunized with Sputnik V.
Because it is important? Thousands of citizens of Russia could be directly affected by the decision. Despite cold diplomatic relations and limited demand for international travel, roughly 300,000 Russians visited the country in 2019, the latest year for which figures are available, according to the American Travel Association.
- The new rules, which will take effect in November, could also exclude millions of people from other countries where Sputnik V has been applied.
- More broadly, the American plan is another blow to the makers of Sputnik V, which Moscow has proudly proclaimed as the first registered coronavirus vaccine for use.
- Acceptance of Sputnik V abroad has been limited; and slow injection delivery rates have left it behind.
What do they say? “This is a big problem for Russian travelers and for people from other countries who have received Sputnik V,” warned Judyth Twigg, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who tracks public health in Russia.
- “We oppose attempts to politicize the global fight against COVID-19 and discriminate against effective vaccines for short-term political or economic gains,” read a statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
- The RDIF noted that Sputnik V “has been approved in 70 countries where more than 4 billion people live” and its efficacy and safety have been confirmed.
Main source of the news: The Washington Post.
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