US diplomats working in other countries, due to the unavailability of American-made vaccines, are forced to apply for vaccinations in other countries, including Russia, according to the Washington Post.
According to sources of the newspaper, at least 13 countries have already offered to vaccinate American diplomats with vaccines, which they had previously purchased from the United States. The State Department, according to the newspaper, has already accepted this proposal. Now the State Department is studying similar proposals from eight more countries.
“In Russia, some State Department officials approached Moscow for doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine after Washington failed to promise delivery of US-made doses of the vaccine in the near future,” the newspaper said.
The publication notes that the Russian vaccine has not yet been approved by the WHO or the American regulator, and the State Department does not recommend its employees to be vaccinated with it, but “allows them to make their own decisions regarding health.”
“It is embarrassing for the richest country in the world to ask for alms from other countries when it comes to vaccines, especially considering that the best vaccines were produced in the United States,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed US diplomat working in the Middle East.
As the newspaper notes, the State Department requested 315 thousand doses of vaccines, but so far received only 23%.
“This is a very unstable situation, and we understand that employees are hungry for information,” the newspaper quotes the words of the acting. Under Secretary of State Carol Perez.
Perez and other US officials told the newspaper that they are working to address diplomats’ concerns over vaccinations.
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