The prerequisites for the approval of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at the national level in Austria are the quality and political will confirmed by experts, Director General of Public Health Katharina Reich told Presse newspaper.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said earlier that Austria could register Sputnik V at the national level if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval process for the vaccine is delayed.
“The alternative is emergency approval under certain conditions. If there is a quality control process involving outstanding experts and political will, we can agree on this”, – Reich said.
According to her, there is already access to the data on the vaccine, at the moment they are being checked by experts. Reich said Austria is also awaiting information on what time horizon the EMA sees for completing a gradual review of Russian vaccines. Reich suggested that clarity will emerge in the coming weeks.
“Obviously, we need to make a decision before the summer. After the summer, we no longer need vaccine doses”, – she said, noting that there is no need for a Russian vaccine to fulfill the vaccination plan. At the same time, Sputnik V could make it possible to cover more segments of the population with vaccinations.
“There are people who rather trust the Russian vaccine than the European or American vaccine”, – Reich added. In addition, the Russian vaccine could speed up the pace of vaccination.
She recalled that as part of the EMA inspection, visits to vaccine production sites are envisaged. Reich did not rule out that if the vaccine is approved at the national level, Austria itself can carry out such checks.
“If we deem it necessary, we will do it. Russia has signaled that it will allow it to be done. We only need the relevant information beforehand”, – she said.
The Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus has been undergoing a gradual examination procedure since March 4 at the European Medicines Agency EMA, which is engaged in the approval of 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.