Vaccine tours abroad underway by Russians as WHO disapproves Sputnik V
Dhaka: Russian travel agencies are selling package tours for Russians to receive foreign Covid-19 vaccines abroad as frustration grew among many that their domestically produced vaccines have not been approved internationally or by the World Health Organisation.
Russia has not registered any foreign-made vaccines for use. It has approved four domestically produced vaccines including the two-dose Sputnik V. None of Russia's shots are approved by the World Health Organisation or European Union.
The WHO has suspended its approval process for Sputnik V until a factory that failed a good practices inspection is visited again, the Pan American Health Organisation said on September 15.
Demand in Russia for tours allowing people to receive foreign vaccines approved by the WHO has risen since that announcement last week, said Maya Lomidze, Director of Russia's Association of Tour Operators.
Most of the trips, costing around EUR 600-850, are to Serbia, and one firm was offering Germany as a destination. They allow customers to receive one of four different vaccines, including the one developed with Pfizer, ATOR said in a statement.
If the travellers choose a two-dose vaccine, they need to book two trips.
Anna Filatovskaya, the PR director of Russian Express, a travel agency offering such tours, said that clients were choosing the Pfizer shot most often.
She said its package tours included return flights with Aeroflot, two-three nights in a hotel in Belgrade, breakfast and travel to a clinic. The vaccine shot itself is free, but the travel agency registers clients to receive it, she added.
"We started selling these tours around two weeks ago. There were around 20 applications in that time..." she mentioned.
Demand spiked on September 22 after local media reports of the availability of such tours, she claimed.
"This provoked wild demand," she noted, adding, 17 people had applied for a vaccination trip on September 22.
Ivetta Verdiyan, the advertising director of another travel agency, said their tours were mainly being used by Russians who travel for business or whose children study abroad.
