Prognosis

Putin’s Allies Are Ordering Sputnik Vaccine Across Latin America

  • Socialist governments across region order Russia’s Sputnik V
  • Regulators in many countries haven’t approved Russian shots
A nurse receives the first dose of ‘Gam-COVID-Vac‘ also known as Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina on Dec. 29, 2020.Photographer: Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images
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Sputnik V, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by an arm of the Russian government, has been met with deep skepticism from regulators across the world.

Except in Latin America. In Argentina, Venezuela and now Bolivia -- all run by leftist presidents with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin -- Sputnik has been approved for emergency use. In all, the countries have placed orders for more than 30 million doses of the vaccine.