While the list of countries approving Russia’s coronavirus vaccine keeps growing, the jab is still in need of good publicity at home as most Russians remain reluctant to vaccinate.
Luckily, the Sputnik V vaccine’s developers might have just gotten the publicity boost they’d been looking for.
Two prisoners at a corrective labor colony in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil have written a rap song dedicated to Russia’s coronavirus jab and filmed an accompanying music video.
Inmates Alexander Zayats and Yevgeny Kudrin wrote original lyrics and music as a way to motivate more Russians to participate in the mass vaccination drive, according to the video’s description.
In the best traditions of the genre, the video, called “Goodbye, Coronavirus!”, opens with a shout-out to the label sponsoring the artists — Corrective Colony No. 12, disguised as “12 Studio Twelfth.”
“The vaccine is not a joke! Sasha, are you going to vaccinate?” Kudrin asks his co-star at the beginning of the video.
“Oh yeah!” Zayats responds with enthusiasm as his voice slides into the lyrics.
The song’s first verse recalls the deadly virus’ emergence in China before declaring that Russian scientists “have found a cure, the Sputnik V vaccine.”
“Help us, Sputnik V,” says the chorus, accompanied by an accordion beat. “Go get vaccinated [with] Sputnik V!”
The second verse praises the global success of the jab “envied by the West” and “approved by [consumer protection watchdog] Rospotrebnadzor.” The authors add that they are “eagerly waiting [for the vaccine] behind bars.”
“Sputnik V will rid you of Covid!” the song concludes.
“Sputnik V” is the second pandemic-themed song to be recorded at the colony. Last spring, inmates composed a song that stressed the importance of coronavirus prevention measures and asked Russians to stay home during the national self-isolation mandate.
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