Russia Refutes Lithuania's Criticism of Sputnik V, Stresses Vaccine's Global Recognition

VILNIUS (Sputnik) - Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V proved its effectiveness and was recognised at the international level, despite disinformation and biased statements from Western countries, the Russian Embassy in Lithuania said on Sunday in response to the recent critical statement by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

Earlier this week, Šimonytė called the Russian vaccine "another hybrid weapon [of Moscow] to divide and rule." The official also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not intend to use the vaccine to cure Russians.

"Despite the wave of misinformation and similar biased statements at all stages of the creation and use of the vaccine, the Sputnik V [trial] results, recognized at the international level, speak for themselves," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

The Russian vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Epidemiology and Microbiology Centre and registered by the Russian Ministry of Health on 11 August, was the world's first vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

On Tuesday, peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet published an interim analysis from the phase 3 trial of the Russian vaccine, showing its 91.6 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19. The vaccine has already been approved in 21 countries, including Belarus, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Hungary, the UAE and others.