Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who oversees vaccination policy at the European Commission (EC), has said that even if the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is allowed, it will come “too late” to the EU
“The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will study Sputnik V and give a correct assessment – I am convinced of that. But approval does not yet mean that the vaccine can be produced in sufficient quantity. Normally, it would take many months before the appropriate production could be set up and started. For our aim of inoculating all Europeans as much as possible in the summer, Sputnik V will come simply too late”, – said the European Commissioner in an interview with Der Spiegel.
Earlier, Breton stated that the EU does not need the Russian vaccine against Sputnik V coronavirus. According to him, the EC has no doubts about the quality of the drug, but it is allegedly aware of “difficulties with the production of this vaccine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on these statements, stressed that the Russian Federation does not impose its drugs on anyone, but such statements in the EU make one wonder if European officials are defending the interests of individual companies rather than those of their fellow citizens.