Russia is considered a highly trusted vaccine manufacturer and almost half of respondents in 11 countries are aware of Sputnik V, a YouGov poll shows

Russia is considered a highly trusted vaccine manufacturer and almost half of respondents in 11 countries are aware of Sputnik V, a YouGov poll shows

Moscow, November 17, 2020 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), announces the results of a survey of more than 12,000 respondents in 11 countries on their attitude towards vaccination against coronavirus and their vaccine preferences. According to the survey, nearly three quarters of respondents (73%) expressed readiness in being vaccinated against coronavirus. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who expressed readiness is even higher among those who are aware of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine: with four out of five respondents saying they would like to be vaccinated. The increase in percentage could also be attributed to high levels of confidence in Russia as a global vaccine manufacturer.

The level of trust to a vaccine based on human adenoviral vector (Sputnik V platform) is 9 times higher than to other non-human adenoviral vector platforms according to the results of the survey.

The survey was conducted between 9 and 19 October 2020 by YouGov, the leading UK company in market research and data analytics. Residents of Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, the UAE and Vietnam participated in the poll. More than 2.5 billion people, or over 30% of the world's population, live in these countries. The survey became one of the largest on this topic and the first global survey involving countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The survey has been taken prior to the announcement of Sputnik V 92% efficacy rate as a part of the first interim data review.

Key findings of the poll:

·        The overwhelming majority of participants in the study are positive about vaccination against coronavirus (73% of those surveyed).

·        Among those who have heard about the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the percentage of those who are ready to be vaccinated is even higher - more than 80% of respondents.

·        Almost half of the survey participants (44%) have heard about the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

·        Residents of Mexico, India, Brazil, Vietnam and the Philippines have shown the highest awareness rate (55% to 60% of respondents).

·        Nine out of ten people would prefer a vaccine based on human adenoviral vector (like Sputnik V) to other non-human adenoviral vector platforms.

·        The highest level of trust to a vaccine based on human adenoviral vector was observed across all countries.

·        Russia as a vaccine manufacturer is the most highly trusted, with 21% of the votes, surpassing the USA at 15% and China at 13% among the first-choice countries named by respondents.

·        In terms of the total number of mentions among the most trustworthy countries (each respondent named three countries), the leaders were the United States, Russia and China with 45%, 40% and 32% of the total votes, respectively.

·        The strongest indicator of trust in Russia’s vaccine was recorded in Mexico, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, commented:

“Russia’s scientific expertise in microbiology, immunology and vaccine and drug development is highly reputable worldwide, which is confirmed by this survey. Russia, as a vaccine manufacturer, was mentioned more often than other countries as the most highly trusted. The survey covered 11 countries located in various world regions, meaning the survey had a good representation of different nationalities and cultures. A crucially important finding from the survey was the fact that the majority of respondents are ready to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

The results of the survey emphasize that residents of many large countries have a positive attitude towards the Russian vaccine and are aware of its technological platform and advantages. The survey participants who had heard about the Sputnik V vaccine expressed a greater readiness to vaccination due to their understanding of the reliability, safety and efficacy of the Russian vaccine. The platform at the core of the Sputnik V vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective over decades of scientific research and clinical trials. RDIF, together with the Gamaleya National Center will continue to work actively to make the Sputnik V vaccine available globally as soon as our country’s vaccination needs are met”.

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Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF’s management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB1.9 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia’s GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru

For additional information contact:

Arseniy Palagin                                Andrew Leach / Maria Shiryaevskaya

Russian Direct Investment Fund       Hudson Sandler

Press Secretary                                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133

Tel: +7 495 644 34 14, ext. 2395

Mobile: +7 916 110 31 41

E-mail: arseniy.palagin@rdif.ru

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 12,323 adults in Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Vietnam. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th - 19th October 2020.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been given an even weighting for each country to produce an ‘average’ value.