Here’s the story in one sentence: My partner and I were strictly social distancing and working from home since March 13, 2020 and on April 19th, 2021 we were officially two weeks post second (free) dose of the Sputnik V vaccine.
The longer story is that the pandemic hit a mere six months after we had moved from Stockholm, Sweden to Almaty, Kazakhstan. We were just hitting that sweet settled spot when everything is falling into place and then, as it did for most people in March of 2020, everything fell apart.
Living in Almaty, Kazakhstan During the Pandemic
Three months into the pandemic, it became clear that I was unexpectedly high risk for complications like blood clots and stroke if I got covid. For a full year we didn’t go to restaurants, coffeeshops, malls, gyms, sporting events, friends’ houses, or work. It would be easier to say what we did since that list was shorter- we were a bubble of two, working from home, going on morning walks, having groceries delivered, and building a home gym and a daily yoga practice. This was because I was high risk. If we saw friends it was about once every month or so, always outside, in parks, masked. Thank god for hardy friends and to-go coffee.
We taught our classes online and hoped for a vaccine, which is so easy to take for granted now but remember when we thought a vaccine wouldn’t happen? Those early days when the news was ‘Remember, folks, we’ve never had a vaccine for a coronavirus before… so… good luck us!’ And now, here we are, with people on their third boosters. That’s incredible, and it’s worth remembering when we didn’t think it would happen.
I have said before, so many times, and I will say it now, as many times as I need to, that I am grateful to have been living in Almaty, Kazakhstan during the covid pandemic. Was it a perfect response? No, such things never are. Was it much better than what I saw on the news and heard from friends in other countries? Yes.
Getting Sputnik V Vaccine in Almaty
Kazakhstan moved swiftly to get the Sputnik V production rights, they built a production facility in country in December of 2020, and by April 2021 they had already vaccinated law enforcement, health care workers, and teachers. By end of April/beginning of May 2021 anyone over 18 who wanted it could get it.
To say I was excited to get vaccinated would be a massive understatement. I walked to the polyclinic, giddy with anticipation, and didn’t even spend one single second worried about anything going wrong- you can keep your magnet conspiracy theories and Bill Gates in your blood fears, that’s not for me.
I had an immune reaction for about 24 hours after, but it wasn’t ‘side effects’. It was a simple, expected immune reaction that felt like a mild flu. I had antibodies tested and I have a high level, so the vaccine did its job. I am a school teacher and many students have had covid and I never got sick. I feel grateful to be protected, and lucky that I got vaccinated months sooner than some of my acquaintances living overseas.
Why Isn’t Sputnik V Vaccine Internationally Recognized?
I am now awaiting my booster shot, even as I deal with frustration that Sputnik V is recognized and used in 70 countries but not recognized by the US or many EU countries. I am fully vaccinated, and about to be boosted, and yet I am not considered vaccinated in many places (importantly, places where friends and loved ones live, where I would love to be able to travel freely).
I feel grateful to have received the vaccine when I did, and would happily take the Sputnik V booster, but now I have to think strategically about getting Pfizer instead simply to move more easily. A group of my coworkers flew to Uzbekistan in November and December of 2021 to get Pfizer for that reason, even though Sputnik V was their original vaccination and available right here in Almaty. It’s a difficult situation to consider that some countries are waiting on first vaccination to be widespread, whilst others are on third or fourth shots and have the luxury of ranking vaccines.
I have read recent news that Sputnik V vaccine will be up for review in January, and hopefully it is added to the list of internationally, fully recognized vaccines. In the meantime, I will keep my fingers crossed that happens sooner rather than later.
[…] and the country invested in a vaccine early- Sputnik V- and built a facility to produce it. Then they gave it out free to anyone who wanted it months before many other countries had such resou…. The pandemic for me was a vacuum of time in a strange world that I sailed through relatively […]