The head of the External Church Relations Department at the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk (Alfeyev), recently said mutual recognition of vaccines by the G20 members is necessary.
“The issue of mutual recognition of vaccines, I think, is long overdue because the Russian vaccine is no worse than Western ones, and people who are vaccinated in Russia when they come to Western countries face certain discrimination. I would like to hope that the issue will be resolved,” Metropolitan Ilarion told the Church and World panel show on Russia 24 TV.
In fact, official Moscow has driven all of Russia and its satellites, bought into Kremlin ‘vaccine’ pledges, into a dead end. Russian coronavirus vaccines, including Sputnik V, have not been recognized by the World Health Organization or any international pharmaceutical regulator. Because of this, Russians and citizens of other countries who bought on Moscow’s promises and got vaccinated with Russian drugs, are unable to travel across the European Union, to the United States, other G20 countries, or Ukraine. That’s because, to cross the border of these countries requires, a vaccination certificate is required involving the drug certified in accordance with international standards. And no Russian vaccine is like that.
“We need to understand that there can be significant differences between the G20 member states, mostly in the political plane. But when it comes to people’s health, people’s lives, a challenge to all mankind, then, in my opinion, political differences should be set aside,” Alfeyev added.
Now the ROC, which have been promoting Russian vaccines wherever they could, while being aware they failed to meet international standards, are making “innocent eyes,” calling for understanding.
It should be recalled that the Russian Orthodox Church has long been involved in the circulation of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, which has been widely promoted by Kremlin propaganda.
At the same time, Russian Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are making the most powerful “anti-ad” for the Russian vaccine as both have long remained in self-isolation, very rarely attending public events despite having reportedly been vaccinated with Sputnik V.
At the same time, Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeyev) himself complained a month ago that the vaccination campaign in the Russian Federation had seen a total fiasco.
Another point is that at a time when the ROC is tearfully asking the West to recognize Russian vaccines, the Moscow Patriarchate continues its powerful antivaxx campaign in Ukraine.
It should be recalled that on October 19, 2021, the head of the emergency medical assistance expert group at the Medical Services Directorate of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Oleksandr Danyliuk, in interview with UNICEF expert Ekaterina Bulavinova said that the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates are being observed in regions where the Moscow Patriarchate has the most influence over the locals.
