When Russian regulators approved the country’s own COVID-19 vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection.
However, international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot.
So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely — a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in the past few weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots.
Serbia, which is not a member of the EU, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians, because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots.
Organized tours for Russians have soared and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.
“We took the Pfizer vaccine because we want to travel around the world,” Nadezhda Pavlova, 54, said after receiving the vaccine last weekend at a sprawling Belgrade vaccination center.
Her husband, Vitaly Pavlov, 55, said he wanted “the whole world to be open to us rather than just a few countries.”
Vaccination tour packages for Russians seeking shots endorsed by the WHO appeared on the market in the middle of last month, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators.
Maya Lomidze, the group’s executive director, said prices start at US$300 to US$700, depending on what is included.
Lauded by Russian President Vladimir Putin as world’s first registered COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V emerged in August last year and has been approved in about 70 countries, including Serbia.
However, the WHO has said global approval is still under review after citing issues at a production plant a few months ago.
On Friday, a top WHO official said legal issues holding up the review of Sputnik V were “about to be sorted out,” a step that could relaunch the process toward emergency use authorization.
Other hurdles remain for the Russian application, including a lack of full scientific information and inspections of manufacturing sites, said Dr Mariangela Simao, a WHO assistant director-general.
Apart from the WHO, Sputnik V is also still awaiting approval from the European Medicines Agency before all travel limitations can be lifted for people vaccinated with the Russian formula.
The long wait has frustrated many Russians, so when the WHO announced yet another delay last month, they started looking for solutions elsewhere.
“People don’t want to wait; people need to be able to get into Europe for various personal reasons,” said Anna Filatovskaya, Russky Express tour agency spokeswoman in Moscow. “Some have relatives. Some have business, some study, some work. Some simply want to go to Europe because they miss it.”
The owner of BTS Kompas travel agency in Belgrade, Predrag Tesic, said they are booked well in advance.
“It started modestly at first, but day by day numbers have grown nicely,” Tesic said.
He said that his agency organizes everything, from airport transport to accommodations and translation and other help at vaccination points.
When they return for another dose in three weeks, the Russian guests are also offered brief tours to some of popular sites in Serbia.
Back in Russia, some Moscow residents said they understood why many of their fellow Russians travel abroad for vaccines.
However, Tatiana Novikova said homegrown vaccines remain her choice.
“I trust ours more, to be honest,” she said.
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