The process of recognizing the Russian vaccine against COVID-19 Sputnik V is influenced by political and economic reasons, said Peter Bystron, member of the Bundestag Committee on International Affairs from Alternative for Germany, in an interview with Izvestia.
According to the German politician, if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) considered Sputnik V exclusively from a medical point of view, the drug would have been approved long ago. However, the EU has put economic benefit ahead of citizens’ health and is trying to protect the market from competition.
“The EMA protects the market so that large Western pharmaceutical companies can sell their drugs without competition,” said Bystron.
The non-recognition of vaccination certificates by Sputnik V is an attempt to prevent the inflow of foreign currency into Russia, the deputy added. Earlier, the official representative of the World Health Organization, Harris, said that additional information was allegedly needed to approve the Russian vaccine.