Germany will bilaterally talk with Russia about the Sputnik V vaccine, it is necessary to find out when and to what extent it can be supplied, said the head of the German Ministry of Health Jens Spahn.
“The European Commission announced last night that it will not conclude contracts (with the Russian side – ed.), as with other manufacturers, for example, with BioNTech. In this regard, we <…> stated that we will speak bilaterally, in including with Russia. First of all, we will talk about when and what volumes can be supplied in general”, – Spahn said live on the ZDF TV channel.
Earlier it was reported that the Ministry of Health of Bavaria signed a memorandum of intent with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on possible supplies to the region of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
The Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus has been undergoing a gradual review procedure since March 4 at the European Medicines Agency EMA, which approves vaccines for use on the European market. Earlier in the EMA expressed hope that the assessment of “Sputnik V” will be held in an accelerated period, but there is no date for the approval of the vaccine. According to media reports, the approval of the Russian vaccine, if there are no difficulties, should be expected in May.
The Sputnik V vaccine has been approved in nearly 60 countries with a total population of over 1.5 billion. Sputnik V 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.