Slovakia recommended not to apply Sputnik-V in the country because the doses received are different from those used in the Lancet studies

Slovak health authorities have recommended not to administer the Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine doses received, stating that the information received is incorrect or incomplete.

In a report, the Slovak regulatory body argued that the material provided was not identical to that described in the medical journal The Lancet, which confirmed an efficacy of 91.6% for Sputnik V. On April 8, he indicated that it was not identical to that provided to the European Medicines Agency, currently evaluating the possibility of authorizing its application in the European Union. Slovakia received the vaccines on March 1, but avoided starting to administer them due to the aforementioned discrepancies.

Consequently, Russia ordered the Slovak government to return the doses received – currently 200,000 – “so that they can be used in other countries” and claiming that Bratislava committed “breaches of contract”.

In a letter sent on April 6, the Russian Fund for Direct Investments estimated that there was “Act of sabotage” by the Slovak regulator, that he accuses of having launched a “Disinformation campaign”, with “fake news”.

“All Sputnik V batches are of the same quality and pass exhaustive quality control at the Gamaleya Institute. The quality of Sputnik V has been confirmed by regulators in 59 countries, ”the vaccine’s official Twitter account said.

Russian authorities they hope that Slovakia “will resolve its internal differences” and take into account that “vaccines should save lives, not to be used in geopolitics and internal struggles, ”he added.

Despite the incident with Slovakia, and with several setbacks suffered by the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, Europe could open its doors to the vaccine of Russian origin.

This week, Germany said it was ready to take the plunge and negotiate bilaterally with Moscow for the acquisition of the Russian vaccine. Sputnik V, outside the common purchasing system designed by the European Commission.

Berlin is ready to buy solo on the Russian market, provided that the European agency approves Sputnik V, based like AstraZeneca on adenovirus and currently under review at the EMA. The state of Bavaria recently announced the purchase of 2.5 million doses, subject to EMA approval. Austria is stuck in negotiations to buy a million doses individually, as are the autonomous regions of Italy and Spain. France has also been willing to apply the inoculant, provided it obtains regulatory approval.

Sputnik V, whose purchase in Brussels does not negotiate but which Hungary already administers by its own decision, it is in the same state of analysis in the EMA as the drugs of the German CureVac and the American Novavax, which, unlike the Russian vaccine, is part of the Commission’s pre-purchased vaccine portfolio.

The purchase of doses of Sputnik-V outside the supranational bloc generated a political crisis in Slovakia and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Igor Matovič. The official struck a secret deal to buy two million doses despite the outright rejection of much of the coalition he led. This catalyzed the resignation of six ministers and, soon after, that of Matovič himself.

With information from EuropaPress and EFE

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