A US government document published in January revealed that US health officials pressured Brazil not to purchase Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine. The startling admission was buried in a 72-page report from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and received little attention until Monday when the official Sputnik V Twitter account shared a screenshot from the report.
The HHS report detailed the work of the US Office of Global Affairs (OGA) in a section of the report titled “Combatting malign influences in the Americas.” The report says the OGA used “diplomatic relations” to counter influence in the Americas from states like Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia.
“Examples include using OGA’s Health Attaché office to persuade Brazil to reject the Russian COVID-19 vaccine,” the report reads. The OGA also pressured Panama not to accept the help of Cuban doctors and offered CDC assistance instead.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov discussed the pressure countries were under not to buy the Sputnik V vaccine, although he did not mention the US by name. “The scale of pressure in many countries is unprecedented, harsh, stripped of any diplomatic subtlety and so on,” he said.
Brazil has been hit hard by coronavirus and has been struggling to acquire vaccines. Last week, the Brazilian government announced it was finally buying Sputnik V vaccines, but its regulators still have to sign off on the purchase.
Part of that American compassionate spirit that Iraqi’s seen.
Interestingly enough, several of Brazilian regions have ignored Federal authorities and are vaccinating with Sputnik V. Brazil’s president’s popularity in the dumpster, and former popular president Lula being cleared of charged and his sentence annulled, he can run.
This is making Brazil run to up until now spurned China, and getting vaccines from there as well.
Not just that — looks like Huawei will be cleared as well.
Why? There is a shortage. Even the US cannot buy enough. What is gained? It isn’t sales of something the US does not have to sell.
Israel made a deal with Pfizer whereby they handed over their intelligence on vaccines in exchange for being one of first recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. Since various companies have complained about being hacked its not hard to assume Israel responsible. Initially Israel had grand ideas inventing the vaccine themselves. Hard to find who the largest individual shareholders of Pfizer are but the US pressure on many countries to buy the Pfizer vaccine a bit disquieting.
Did we threaten to sanction them yet? And how dare Venezuela accept doctors help from that “terrorist” state of Cuba. What is our fucking problem?
The reason why South American countries refused the Pfizer vaccine, was because Pfizer required every country which used its vaccine, to sign a waiver should anything go wrong, such as anyone getting very ill or dying from it. Throw the vaccine out there and then absolve themselves from any possible consequences.
Lily Tomlin said it best: I try to be cynical but I just can’t keep up
US is the World Number One Economy Terrorist….!
Brazil has a pliant leader who puts US interests above those of the citizens. Coercion was not necessary, but the saga demonstrates US malice towards those do not kowtow to it. Brazilian economy has suffered immensely since Lula da Silva and Dilma Youseff were jailed on concocted charges with the help of the FBI and the Swiss authorities.