An internal investigation at a hospital in the eastern Estonian town of Narva is underway after daily Eesti Päevaleht (EPL) reported that an outgoing, high-level Russian diplomat received the full coronavirus vaccine dose at the facility, a few days before returning to Russia and despite Kremlin-backing media calling western COVID-19 vaccines dangerous.
While the circumstances which led to Yuri Gribkov, Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Narva, getting both first and second Pfizer/BioNTech vaccinations have yet to be established, and are pending the internal investigation at the Ida-Viru Central Hospital (Ida-Viru keskhaigla), the report comes amid Russian s strong drive to promote its own Coronavirus vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, ahead of western products such as Pfizer s.