Guatemala Demands Money Back from Russia for Failure to Supply Sputnik COVID-19 Vaccine

After Russia failed to deliver the ordered doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by Guatemala, the Central American country's Health Minister Amelia Flores stated on Tuesday that the Guatemalan government had asked Russia to return their money.

20 Extra Days

The government led by Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei paid around $80 million in early April for a supply of 8 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. The Guatemalan revealed that out of 8 million doses that have been ordered due to the still-rising coronavirus cases in the country but Guatemala so far only received 150,000 doses.

According to the U.S. News, Guatemalan Health Minister Amelia Flores said that they had given the Russian Direct Investment Fund 20 days to deliver the promised doses. The RDIF is responsible for marketing the Sputnik V vaccine abroad.

The spokesman for the RDIF mentioned that additional supplies of the vaccine would reach Guatemala soon.

Moreover, Gleb Bryanski, the director for special projects at RDIF mentioned in an emailed statement that another plane with Sputnik V is scheduled to arrive in Guatemala this week. Bryanski also added that the next set of vaccines will be coming early next week to keep fulfilling obligations regarding the contract.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized when asked regarding the shortages that their absolute priority is domestic consumption. Peskov added that the vaccination of Russians is at the top of their list and satisfying the vaccine demand of other countries was not possible. He added that all of the obligations would be fulfilled later.

Furthermore, several regions in Russia have also reported recently regarding vaccine shortages. Russians also demand the vaccination to be picked up after authorities rolled out mandatory vaccination programs to kick-start the flagging domestic campaign.

The unenthusiastic response of Russians in Sputnik V's demand at home had recently allowed Russia to export extra batches of its flagship Sputnik V vaccine abroad. Until recently when the uptick in domestic demand raised questions over the ability of the country to vaccinate its own population. Questions were also raised if the Russian government could also fulfill its existing pledge to supply around 70 countries.

The Moscow Times mentioned in their report that earlier in June, Argentina and Mexico were facing shortages of second doses of Sputnik V.

Putin-Promoted Vaccine

On the other hand, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has promoted the Sputnik V vaccine around the world. Putin stated in March that the country had signed agreements for the production of hundreds of millions of doses across the world. However, Russia has produced only a portion of those mentioned contracts. Only a fraction of its 896 million promised Covid-19 vaccine doses to other countries were delivered.

As of May 12, Russia had produced just 33 million vaccines and exported fewer than 15 million Sputnik V vaccines. The numbers were based on a Reuters tally that counted each vaccine as consisting of two doses.

The Sputnik V's output is much lower compared to those manufactured each month by pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

WATCH: A batch of Sputnik V vaccines arrives in Guatemala - Sputnik V