Co-chairman of the parliamentary faction of the right-wing “Alternative for Germany” Alexander Gauland called on the German government to approve and purchase the Russian Sputnik V vaccine as soon as possible, if necessary without the participation of EU authorities.
Sputnik V is in the process of reviewing its registration dossier at the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The German government has repeatedly stated that the vaccine can be purchased by Germany after registration with the EMA, Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that Berlin could purchase the vaccine on its own if the EU decides, after registration, not to purchase the vaccine centrally for all member countries. At the same time, the process of centralized procurement of vaccines in the EU is criticized, the European Commission is accused of not being able to provide a sufficient volume of orders, as the United States, Great Britain, Israel and the United Arab Emirates were able to do.
“The federal government must do everything to buy as much vaccine as possible and to ensure a quick vaccination for every citizen who wants it. To achieve this, the government must not rely on the awkward EU bureaucracy, and in cases of doubt, take matters into its own hands – just as successful vaccine countries like the UK or Israel do”, – Gauland said in a statement.
He separately stressed that this approach should be applied to the Sputnik V vaccine, “which should be tested, approved and purchased as soon as possible so that Germany has as many vaccines as possible”.
“If necessary (place orders) here, too, without the participation of the relevant EU authorities. The government must finally remember that its task is to provide every citizen with access to a reliable vaccine as soon as possible, instead of entrusting this important task to an absolutely unsuitable EU bureaucracy”, – added the politician.
The Russian vaccine Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya Center, has been registered in about 60 countries with a total population of over 1.5 billion. It ranks second in the world in terms of the number of approvals received by government regulators.
The vaccine efficacy at 91.6% is confirmed by the publication of data in the leading medical journal The Lancet. Sputnik V is built on the proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors. The drug uses two different vectors for two shots during the vaccination process, which forms a stronger immunity compared to vaccines that use the same delivery mechanism for both shots.